The San Francisco call., 1906-07-15
The Coming Of I Hagar

age. 20 SrOteSQue IN looks lnaN SulA-
dren jeered at him in the streets; so
avaricious that throughout the neigh
borhood he was called "Skinfint.' II
he possessed any hidden good qualities
70 coun terbalance his known bad ones
no person had ever discovered them. or
even had taken the trouble TO look for
them Certainly Jacob, surly and uncom-
municative. was not an individual IN
clined to encourage uninVited curl
ositv. in his pawnshop he lived Ike
an ogre in a fairy tale castle, and no
one ever came near him save to trans
act business. TO wrangle during the
transaction thereof. and 10 curse him
at its conclusion. Thus il may be
guessed that Jacob drove hard bar
gains.
The pawnshop-situated in Carby's
Crescent Lambcth-furthermOr re-
sembled an ogre's castle inasmuch as.
though not filled with dead mems
bones. il contained the relics and
wreckage. the llotsam and Jetsam. Of
many lives. OF many households
Placed in the center of dingy cres-
cent. it faced a small open space, and
the entrance OF the narrow lane which
led therefrom 70 the adjacent thor
ouEhfare In its windOws-begrime
with the dust Of years. heterO-
Feneous mixture Of articles was dis
TO well-wOrn saueepans; from gold
watches TO rusty nati-ons; from the
chiSel Of a carpenter TO the ivory
framed mirror OF a fashionable beauty.
The contents Of Dix's window typifed
in little the luxury. the meanneSs the
triviality and the decadence Of latter
day civilization.
There was some irony. too. in the
disposition Of incOnSruOUs articles; for
the useful and useless were placed
significantly in proximity, and the
triIes OF frivolity were mingled with
the necessaries Of life. Here a Dresden
china figure. bright hued and dainty.
simpered everlastingly at copper
wsrming-pan: there a silver-handled
dagger OF the Renaissance lay with
score Of those cheap dinner knives
whose bluntness one eNecrates in
third-rate restaurants. The bandaged
hand Of a Pharaohnic mummy touched
an agate saucer holding defaced coins
Of all ages, Of all nations. Watches.
in alternate rows Of gold and silver,
dangled over fantastic temples and
ships Of ivory carved by laborious Chi
nese artidcers. On a square of rich
brocade, woven Of silks, multi-colored
as a parrots plumage. were piled in
careless prOfusion medals charms, old
fashioned rings set with dim gems,
nautch girls
Within doors the shop was small and
dark. A narrow cSunter. runnin e
lengthways. divided the whole into two
parts. On the side nearest the en-
trance three wooden screens by their
disposition formed four sentry
boxes. into which customers stepped
when bent on business. Jacob, wien.
cunning. and racked by an eternal
cough, hOvered up and down the space
within tho counter, wrangling inces-
sanity with his customers. and cheat
ing them on every occasion. He never
gave the value of a pawned article:
he fought over every farthing. and
even when he obtained the goods at
his own price he grudged payment;
for every coin he put down was a drop
OF blood wrunE from his withered
heart. He rarely went outside the shop;
he never mingled with his fellow
creatures. and. the days chicanery
ended. he retired invariably into "a
gloomy back parlor, the principal
adornment Of which was a gigantic
safe built into the wall Here he
counted his gains and saw doubtful
customers not receivable in the shop.
who came by stealth to dispose Of
stolen goods Here, also, in his
lighter moments, he conversed with
the only friend he possessed in Car
by's aCrescent-or, indeed, in London.
Jacob was in no danger Of becoming
a popular idol.
This particular friend was a solicitor
named Vark, who carried on a shady
business, in a. shady manner for shady
clients His name-as he declared
himself-proved him TO be of Polish
descent; but it was commonly report
ed in the neighborhood that Nark was
made TO rhyme with shark, as en-
- ~, Oh, ha
was held He was hated only one de-
gree less than Jacob. and the two
connected primarily as lawyer and
client-late- on, had struck up a mis-
trustful friendship by reason Of their
mutual reputation and isolation.
Neither one believed in the other;
each tried TO swindle on his own ac-
count, and never succeeded; yet the
two met nightly and talked over their
divers rascalities in the dingy parlor,
with a confidence begotten by an in
innate knowledge of each others char
acter The regulations Of both were
so bad that the one did not dare to
betray the other. Only on this basis
is honor possible among thieves
Late one foggy November night ia
cob was seated with his crony over a
pinched little fire, which burned feebly
IN a rusty iron CRATE The old pawn
broker was boiling some Cruel, and
Vark. with his own private bottle Of
gin beside him. was drinking a wine
glass OF II, mixed sparingly with water
Mr. Dix supplied this latter beverage.
as II cost nothing, but Vark-on an un-
derstanding which dated from the COM
rnencement OF their acquaintance-al-
ways brought his own liquor. A gut
tering candle in a silver candlestfck-
e pawned article-was placed on the
deal table. and gave forth a miserable
light. The fog from without had per-
colated into the room, so that the pair
sat in a kind OF misty atmosphere,
hardly illuminated by the farthing dip.
Such discomfort, such squalor, was
only possible in a penurious establish
ment like that Of Jacob.
Tark was a little, lean, wriggling
creature, more like a worm than a man
made IN the image OF his Creator. He
had a sharp nose, pimply face, and two
shifty. hshy eyes. green in hue like
those OF a cat. His dress was of rusty
black, with a small-very small-dis-
play Of linen; and he rubbed his hands
together with a cringing bow every
time Jacob croaked out a remark be-
tween his coughs. Mr.. Dix coughed in
q rich but faded dressing gown, the
relic Of some dandy OF the regency;
and every paroxysm threatened to
shake his frail form to pieces. But the
ancient was wonderfully tough and