The Tupelo journal., 1903-02-27


NORWOOD had tramped over San
1N Francisco, unsuccessfully seek
ing employment from sunrise to sun
set. He had been out of the hospital
only a.few days, and when he paused
before an evil-looking clearinghouse
on the water front, he felt too spent
and disheartened to enter. Exactly
20 cents stood between him and star
walton. He jingled it mechanically.
and watched a MISUNDERSTANDING cat
making toilet in an angle of the wall.
The heaviest fog of the season hung
over the bay and fell necessarily in
small rain and mist. AT last a drunk
en- man, roaring out the refrain of
a popular ~coon-song as he staggered
heavily on, reused Norwood, and he
entered the restaurant and gave a
ten-cent order. In spite of appren-
ticeship at the county hospital, his
weakened stomach revolted at the
quality of the food; but the warmth
revived him a little, and he fingered
until he drew the notice of the surly
proprietor,
See here. young fellow said that
worthy, roughly, you'd better move
on. This amt a Salvation army bar
racks. We don't give lodgin' with a
ten-cent showdown"
Norwood wondered bitterly if there
were lower depths he had not sound
ed, as he paid his score and struck out
aimlessly through the fog. When the
great ferry building doomed up in
front of him he was shivering again,
and he entered the Sausalito waiting
room. A sign conspicuously posted
assured him that loafers would not
be tolerated, so he invested his re-
manning capital in a ticket, and, for
titled by this badge of responsibility,
assumed a position neal a heater.
On account of the fog the boats
were not moving on schedule time,
and there was a long delay. When at
last the gates opened, Norwood found
himself entering with the crowd. His
body moved of its own volition, with
out conscious guidance of his mind,
and he had a feeling of aloofness, as
though he passed through the scenes
of a dream.
1t was high tide. and with the sound
of the little waves swapping at the
piles the idea of ending his misery
entered his mind for the first time.
He had made a brave fight against
odds; he had worked at anything his
hands found to do; but the curricu-
lum of his eastern college had lone
little toward training his eye for ma
terial heights, and when Fate had al
lowed him to make a misstep on some
~scaffolding his ribs had mended soon
er than his spirit.
The f%og-horn still clamored, al
though the mist had lifted a little.
Norwood reflected that about the
middle of the bay, when the wet decks
were empty. he could slip over the
side and out of existence as easily as
though he had never felt that life had
a great deal to offer to him. In the
meantime he still craved warmth, and
he followed the crowd into the cabin
and found a + near the door.
A moment later, two women. one
elderly, the other young, cookbook
ing and with an air of quiet distinc-
ton, seated themselves opposite.
From time to time snatches of their
conversation reached the young man.
The elder wolnan was nervous at the
prospect of crossing in the fog-the
tried to reassure her.
When the BOA started, the girl
moved to look out of the window, and
her purse, that after the careless
fashion of women, she held in her lap.
slid to the floor. AS Norwood restored
it to her she looked at him keenly,
evidently struck by the contrast be-
tween his and unkempt and
haggard appearance. He wondered
DULY what she would do if she could
realize that her well-filled purse held
the price of a human life. A homer
tary impulse to tell her so and throw
himself on her generosity struggled
through his mind. Something in the
level glance of the brown eyes told
him it would not be in vain. But
when pride pushes itself into the
place of the intellect, it is apt to de-
generate into o~bstinacy, so Norwood
held his peace. Having made a mess
of his life, he would abide by the con-
sequences.
During his last night on earth a
condemned mar may lose conscious
ness. Norwood must have dozed for
a moment. He was awakened by a
shock that threw him violently on his
knees, and seemed to lift the boat out
of the water. Flinging out his hands
so save himself, he clutched a soft
leathern object, and still grasping it,
lurched to his feet as a white-faced
deckhand ran through the cabin cry
ing, '.There's been a collision! The
boats sinking!"
Instantly the widest panic prevail
ed. The veneer of civilization, more
or less thin, cracked: ~cowardice,
brutality and weakness appeared.
Struggling men blocked the entranc-
es; they gashed their hands on the