The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-09-01

1t was after nightfall in that part
of New York which is, to the rest of
the city, the top story of the house
where the servants sleep. And now,
when the business district of the lower
town was as dark as a deserted base
ment, the lights were lit in all these
shining windows: and behind the
drawn blinds, clerks and bookkeepers,
shop girls and working women laugh
ed and chatted in their tiny cells and
cub1cles. Their rooms were piled UP,
in layer on layer, to form continuous
blocks of houses; and these rose from
the unbrOken pavements with an ap-
pearance of standing ankle deep in
pool of frozen stone-as If an inunda-
tion of fluid rock had hardened even
ly over the streets and buried every
inequality Of the green sod and brown
soil of a suburb under a barren crust
of asphalt and cement.
Up one of the bare gorges of brick
and pavement, Larkin struggled
against all the winds of December that
fought and jostled him, beating down
the Pickering gas-lights until they
gasped behind their rafting lamp
glasses, and putting stiff blasts along
the sidewalk to speed the stones as
clean as ice. Bending forward, with
his chin in his collar and his shoulder
If the violence of the wind had pound
ed his head into his body and crushed
his stiff derby down on Shis ears. He
had one hand thrust into the breast of
his overcoat at the aperture of a miss
ing button and his elbows were pressed
in against his sides; so that he SEEM
ed to be hugging himself against the
cold, shrunken in on himself in an I'M
willing and shivering discomfort.
nn urhaFl hp Cfnnnn6 in the
light of a hall-lamp to look up at the
number on the door, a package showed
in the crook of his elbow to explain his
posture. and about the wrappings of
that package there shone the gilt
Irvine of the bonbon counter His lips
were contracted with the cold as if to
the pucker of a whistle, and his simple
face. glowing with the nip of the wind,
was the sort from which an always
cheerful melody might be expected
continuously to pipe.
He came up the steps to pick out the
name of "Connors" over an electric
bell, and he pressed the button heavily
with the flat Of his thumb. The door
lock clicked. He wiped his feet on the
mat for a moment of hesitation, and
then blew alphabetically into the
thumb-crotch of a closed fist as he en-
tered; but these were the only signs
of any inward agitation at the pros
pect of making a social call, unin-
vited, on a girl who did not know his
name, and who might possibly not
even remember his face.
little old woman in a shawl was
waiting for him in a doorway on the
second landing. He asked cautiously,
from the top step: as Miss COnnOrs
live here?''
"She does" She peered out to see
that he was a stranger. I'll tell her"
She disappeared.
He prepared to wait at the door, but
she came back at once, in a flutter, to
invite him into the parlor. She asked
him, with an apologize warmth, TO be
seated. He nodded, but he did not
speak.
He put his box of candies on the CEN
ter table and covered II with his hat.
There was a pink plush photograph
album under his hand, with a scroll of
gilt lettering on the cover, and he
stood tracing out the design on it. with
q fascinated finger, until ne heard a
swish of skirts and a patter of quick
steps in the adjoining room. He looked
up to see the girl stop short between
the gaudy hangings of the doorway.
Her lips-that had been ready in a lit
tie shipper of welcome-parted in a
cape of surprise; her hands-that had
been smoothing the shoulders of her
pink beribbOned dressing jacket
caught at the the hangings and re-
manned there, as if she did not intend
to enter until he had explained him
self
She was a small girl, with a head of
coquettish black hair, and she wore
one artful ringlet hanging down in the
middle of her forehead with the air Of
a stage soubrette. He fastened his
gaze on it while he spoke.
I'VE heard t yuh were sick-from
one o tn girls" he said huskily. Il
was-I was gOin' past here, an l
thought Ia drop in an see how yuh
were comm on"
oh" she said. with an affectation
of recognizing him for the first time;
you're Mister Rattray's frien'?"
He nodded. ''Pipp was astin' about
yuh from the Ted-headed girl. We
been goin' to your place at the lunch
counter right along"
Have yuh?" she laughed, dropping
her hands.
He nodded. I'VE thought p'r'aps
yuh'd like some chocolates" He lifted
his hat to uncover the candy box.
From the way he did 1t, it was plain
how much he had counted on the eff
feet She laughed "Oh-oh. thanks"
she said. and came in to take the box
from him. She had a kitchen pallor,
but spot of color began to blush out,
like rouge, on either cheek-bone.