The Washington times., 1905-07-09

Maybe she's hidin' him." volunteered
another There's 'oles enough
| Several ordinations followed this. fol.
lowed IL, their turn by an ouiinous sway
toward the footpath. toward the pawn
skop and the cul-de-sac Anna felt it.
and felt her resolution quail: then. with
an effort that was inspiration, she drew
| herself very straight
stop" she cried Stop Her voice
rang: even the tUTnultuous straggiers
paused, surprised into quiet. She waited
for a second, her head held high. her
face very pale; then she spoke with
direct force.
Look here she said, you found this
street quiet: you'd better leave it quiet.
About making fools OF you'll couldn't
dc that, for you re fools already; I'd
hunt man better myself A question
and an answer, and you'd have had
him FIVE minutes ago: instead
The man who had been the first to
speak caught her arm. She flung him
off fiercely Don't touch meI'' she
said .I can talk without that The
nan you're after came down the pas
sage before you; he stood for a second
| at the cross streets, looking up and
down: then he saw me and bolted down
! s,r ,rinner's alley. You'll have to. run, II
you want to catch MIN now. She
laughed The laugh was strained and
pitched too high; but a crowd is not
sensitive to shades Of tone. There was
| a shutting wait, a noisy indecisicn.
tfen some one in the background
| shouted Stop thfef, One man turned
| and ran. second followed, then a
1 bsfore the girl had taken and let so
| a dozen breaths, the mass of humanity
| had wheeled In body: the street was
still and gray once more. its only audi
BILE disturbance the wind among the
house tops, the shrill voices growing
| fainter at every step. With swift re-
action she leant back against the door
| The moment of vitality was passed,
J her knees trerbled, and there was
| singing in her ears. She steod inn
movable for considerable space, then
suddenly she sprang alert to the re-
| reembrance of the rescued man. From
| the shadows on her right, some one
! was moving steadily nearer inch by
| inch. The light from the scattered ga.
| lamps was poor; she bent forwari In
| back
| .OhI" she said involuntarily. eOhr'
! At no time would the sight have been
! d pleasant one; In the half dusk of
| the quiet street it almost possessed ele-
nents of fear The figure OF the man
vas small and deformed. his face had
/ the blush hue OF chalk, his lips treu-
F. bled. a dark stain ran across the fore
| head from eyebrow to temple.
| For an instant Annals capacities
swan; then, with equal speed. her sense
/ of necessity sprang into its place.
| What's happened to your" she asked.
What nave they done to you7 You
are hurt-cut,
! He saEed at her in stupor OF silence,
! /. struck her that his eyes were unusual
| ly large.
She moved nearer. conquering her re-
| pulsion- DO you know that you are
| safe-quite safe2''
/ His lips moved, out no sound came; he
| had outstripped speech by several de-
grees.
But you are! Wake UP. Understand:
| You are safe-auite safe She caught
his shoulder and shook it gently to en-
force the words; then she drew back
| and looked at her hand 1t was stained
with the blood that had dropped from,
| his forehead to his coat With a shock
Of feeling. she turned and raped vio-
| lcntly on the shop door.
n q
There was long wait. an incredibly
long wait, then the hinges creaked, the
dark shop opened before her Ike a
cave, and the dry smell-the combna-
ton of Eastern spice with Western
| n.ust that mad grown with her into ex-
| istence-hoated out on the cold air
Pushing the stranger before her she
stumbled through the door. Then she
raised her voice
Father. father, are you there? Strike
a light!'
Silence followed; some one shut the
door with tnud, then drew a match
slowly across box. 1t Jared for an
Instant lighting the scene-the shop
with its litter. its cobwebs, its shadows.
the bent form of old Solny, as he held
Il aloft, the drawn, haggara. face of
the rescued man. The united effect
verged on the grotesque.
Anna felt herself turn cold again, but
! she laughed Real life is rather ter
r.ble," sne said huskily, ''but-bgt it's
.