The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-25

Shrewdly estimating the distance,
Heiny successfully negotiated the dark
passage of the hallway from the next
| street over, crawled through black
and foul rear tenement, scaled a ruin
Gus fence, and in five minutes was re-
ceiving from the rear exit of the store
a second vial, sweetened to his uses
by the praises of the eye-glassed clerk.
Delicately carrying the treasure he
made his swift return to the pool
room.
Dutch Gus stood scowling in the
| doorway. 1t was a quarter past the
| hour set by him, and he only growled
when Heiny came up breathless and,
without looking at his sponsor, dropped
the peter lightly in his pocket, whis-
pering as he passed:
"AIl right
| On he hurried to his accustomed cor
ner behind the benches. To what went
on about him for once he paid little
heed. He heard the cracked voice of
Crazy Meg exorting her comrade and
catch of the evening to keep the
drinks moving lively, Bill" and the
wearier tones of Lib and Peaches, who
| had just seated themselves at a table
near him; but beyond subconsciously
noting that they were there he gave
| them not a thought. A new problem
was in his mind, set to running amuck
| there by the simple creed of his friend
| in necessity, the sailor. He must help
fellow who was getting the worst Of
| it. Yet he must be on the square with
the gang. And If the gang wasn't on
the square with other people, could he
be on the square with the world at
| large? The matter seemed Woefully
| confused. How would 1t be if-his
| troubled little brain trailed off into a
maze of speculations. His head buzzed.
He was striving TO adjust an inter-
| Looping element in his scheme of the
universe which had hitherto been so
delightfully."- straightforward; he was
struggling with his private phase of
the everlasting riddle to which the
wisest have found so many and vari-
GUS answers. Then abruptly the mud
/ died enigma reduced itself to specific
and sharply personal basis.
| Up the steps Of the drinking plat
form came Dutch Gus, followed by a
man whose figure and face the bulky
| German screened from the boy, but
whose sailor cap bore the legend
Texas" AS he came there rang out
| in appreciation of some joke Of Gus
a full-toned, believing 'Haw-haw-
haw!'' that drove the last hopeful
| doubt shivering from Heiny's mind.
The Germans smooth voice, inspired
of hospitality. suggested drink, and
| the two seated themselves at the table
with Lib and Peaches. Heiny, help
less in his corner. thought Of the mirth-
| full figures he had seen come in there,
| only to go out sodden, limp and de-
| spoiled. Some of them he knew went
| to the police station; some went direct
| to the hospital; some-he remembered
the silent departure Of the clan one
night when Dolph came in with a
scared face, bearing a newspaper clip
ping-and he shuddered.
Meantime, Here's to your health,
| said Dutch Gus to the sailor.
Your health" repeated the two
women.
-good-health," said the
sailor with an obvious effort at DELHI
Grafton.
By that Heiny knew that the must
act quickly II he were going to act
at all, for the man was already half
drunk, and the next round Of drinks
might well be the one selected for the
drugging. But why should he act?
You'd help a feller that was gettin'
the worst Of It, wouldn't your" said the
sailors confident voice to his memory
I've got to-" answered something
within Heiny that was new to him.
self; and the decision was made. With
it came inspiration.
Cautiously getting to his hands and
knees Heiny crept along under the
benches until he was behind Crazy
Meg. From there he could see the whole
action at Gus table. The fresh beer
came. Lib diverted the sailors atten-
ton for a moment. In that moment
Gus hand, the thumb stoppering the
little vial, rose over the tables edge and
passed over the strangers glass. There
was a squirt of colorless liquid, and the
terrible choral hydrate lost itself in
visibly, imperceptibly in the beer.
TO tie best ship in tie navy, tie
Texas" proposed Gus.
At the same moment Heiny, half ris-