Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-15

lily at him through the open uoor anu INC
-truekhouse clock ticking off his stretch"
comfortably above him A man drifted in
from the fog to catch on the chain that
sagged across the doorway, and asked the
time in a broken English and tone In
sidiously meek.
PIN focused an absent eye on him with
out answering, for the hour was plain on
the clock there. and the man was a tene-
ment-quarter foreigner, in a misft of cast
off clothes.
Silence did not discourage him. He looked
up at the timepiece. Miner" he said. 'Iss
it-sure?'
PIN chose to receive that question of the
accuracy of the clock an insult to the
house. and to accept as an added insolence
the manner in which It was asked-with a
yellow-toothed leer at once wheedling and
sly. He raised his eyebrows to an impos-
sible height of his forehead-in monkey
trick he had, as the clown" of the COM
pany-and then drew them down In a por-
tentous scowl of eye-blazing rage. pulled
cheeks and bristling mustache. And the
man at the door, hiding his grin. at once. in
hairy growth-as coarse as the beard OF
a cocoanut-which covered his face from
his eyes to the throat. began to jabber a
frightened explanation of how he had to
meet friend in Park row at O'Clock.
Long Tom" Donnely. who pitch
forking the bedding for one of the horses
called out to him in the tone OF threat:
Watts dot, eh?"
The man turned his head to flash a side
glance at the stall with evil glisten of
the whites of his eyes; and at sight of Don
nelly's salow face he Sided away from the
door and disappeared in the fog again.
The wrinkles of Pins good-natured smile
subsidized slowly into a blank placidity of
face. He fondled his mustache on pouted
lip for vacant-minded minute or more.
Then he olasped his hands his waist
and twirled his thumbs for another bored
TT oil VINO hu lNaOl &c hxaa1
in sleepy yawn at the clock.
The hands of it marked fifteen minutes
after ..
His eyes opened as his mouth suddenly
shut. He twisted his neck and stared.
Nine iss it?'' he muttered. An that amt
more'n five minutes ago"
He got up and walked uneasily to the
door, to peer down the street-choked with
yellow mist-in the direction which the
man had taken. And 1t struck him then
that this was not the direction in which
Park row lay.
He came back to Donnelly. Ever seen
that mug afore?" he asked.
Sure" Donnelly drawled. Lives ON
top floor down street"
PIN studied the clock
He got friend O. mine run out O. there
once" Donnelly went on. Said he was
stealth, when he was upstairs peddlin'
CLEANSING" He added. dryly: II reported
him for not havin' enough fire escapes"
PIN fingered his chin: "Yuhd know the
place If yuh saw it?''
Il guess yes" Donnelly answered. with
grim conviction.
PIN turned on his heel. "All right" he
said. take this desk jify." and he start
ed up the stairway three steps at bound.
Donnelly had habitual pose of critical
imperturbabiity, and he leaned on his pitch
fork to watch PINS ascension, now IN a
cool contempt for his waste Of energy He
heard him rap on a door above stairs. He
heard the captains deep voice answer He
heard the door closed with careful click
of the lock.
When he put up his pitchfork and went
to the desk he sat down with expression
of bored superiority and resignation. PIN
and he were the oldest members of the COM
pany; but while he carried himself always
with a dignity and reserve BETTING his wis
dom and experience, PIN played the fool for
the sake of being popular with the men,
and scoffed at Donnelly's pretensons with
a freedom that left no friendliness between
them. Their intercourse was an affair of
mutual antipathy, occasionally relieved by
outbursts of mutual contempt.
Donnelly. therefore, did not worry his
calm with any speculation as TO the cause
of Pins excitement. He did not move even
when he heard the door upstairs opened
again and heard the captain call: Take
DOnnelly. I'll put another man on the
desk"
PIN dropped down the sliding-pole beside
the truck. Come along with me. Tom" he
said. fumbling among the forcible-entrance
tools. We're goin' to make a CALI
Donnelly licked his lips. What's dom? p
That's what want to know" PIN said
Does yer friend live top floor front?'
NO; back"
PIN came around the truck. buttoning the
companys long Jimmy" under his coat.
Fire escape. chr"
Donnelly nodded. up the back What's
doin?''
PIN laughed irritatingly. "Nuthin'." he
said. "er a surprise party fer yer friend.
Get move on"
He ducked under the door chain. and
frTT MI
camel. They turned down toward the water
front. PIN setting pace that did not suit
Donnellys dignity and maintaining a ST.
lence that was annoying 10 his pride.
Did y ever prove an alibi? the sergeant
asked at last.
Donnelly growled: Kind O. gay, amt
yuh?'
''Oh. don't know" PIN retorted "Not's
pectin' TO collect insurance on his beddin'."
And DonnelIy closed his thin lips on sud
den understanding OF the situation.
PIN spat In manner of Importance
when one Of those gentry gets interested
IN DRAWN attention TO the time" he said,
in tone OF superior knowledge. ITS likes
not he wants witnesses that he weren't at
home about then, See? Get gait
on"
Donneily reluctantly swung a quicker
stride.
There's more things to be learned on tn
East Side" PIN added, than comes out'n
a civil service exam" And that a
thrust at Donnelly's ambition to qualify for
a lieutenancy.
They hurried down the greasy fagstones
In fog so thick that they could not more
than see the disembodied phantoms of the
street lamps. hung weirdly IN their halos
across the road
He's watchin aroun' here somewheres,
I'll bet" PIN said. Keep in the dark best
yuh can"
Donnelly stopped short before an open
door that gave hallway as dark as a
sewer.
This his hole7" PIN said.
Donnelly grunted.
They CROPPED their way through the mar
row passage into small court, dimly lit
from the windows of a rear tenement that
fronted on II. He's up on top, Donnelly
explained. sulkily. They're Dago trimmin
fact'ries underneath"
Good enough, PIN said Iheres no
lights is there?'
They could see none. PIN found a ped
dlers pushcart iii an angle of the wall. and
they wheeled 1t over noiselessly to up-end
II against the bricks beneath the first ball
cony OF the fire escape. Donnelly gave PIN
lift from IT, and the old sergeant swung
himself up to the ladder with the ease or
long training in life-saving drill.
He was a small man. and he went up the
iron rungs as nimbly as a boy. He saw no
N.1.