New-York tribune., 1910-07-17

We'll" snapped Landor, A"'F
much irritated, what of it,
It's always six o clock at TINS 1t Was Widow
time O. day"
Filler the tout and Colonel
Fav the all-rounder grinned at this. They leaned
against the bar picking their teeth, and, with GER
tain amused insolence, studied the man.
The man did not seem to notice this lie bus1ed
himself draining his sombrero and garments, stand
ing near the door The chauffeur will get his tlVe
extra even if he didn't get me IN town IN time Tor
supper and the five forty-seven train. He did his
best in the darkness and mud " The stranger voice
was lowered to the level of self communion Cougn-
ing as if testing his lungs for cold he restored ms
watch to its fob. Times mutual masonry restored
the three other watches to their fobs,
The strangers testing cough had scarcely ceased
when the door opened again, admitting another rush
of wind and rain together with an owly little man,
with great goggles showed up on his forehead and
cap-ears erect and high, like horns
Pound place for it - the tall man inquired
up an alley" replied the little man, making
futile passes at his spatteTed garments ne % addeG;
You mentioned support" suggested Landor.
For two" The cavalier again produced and
studied his watch.
the owl. Il But you did your best IN the slippery
March mud
Again restoring the watch to it's fob, he drew an
enormous wad of green and orange bills, Folding
back long succession of twentleS and ttleS, he at
length came to FIVE, and handed it to the owl
In the meantime snowy garbed African had
appeared from the at the of the cafe IN
response to LandOr's push on button IN the par
Supper ordered the cavalier nervously resumed his
watch and his insistent iteration of 9 Six, SIX, SKI
'You act as if it had never been SIX o clock be-
fore 4" growled Landor. Landor glanced at Filler and
Fay. There was no responsive grin Something
Faustian about this courty stranger, or, perhaps,
the magnitude of his roll awed them. They mutely
stared furtvelv averting their eyes when he hap
pened to look toward them.
A T Landors i'll natured comment, the stranger
n threw back the long cloak, which he unbuttOned
at the chin pinioned the proprietor with his glitter
ing gaze and said " Friend for reasons of my own,
wish to fix ndelby upon my mind the exact time at
which / reached your double barTeled refreshment
resort By double barreled refer to the solids and
liuuds Indifference of observation results IN untold
disaster A dozen truthful observe a man
killed railway. T-ken one at a time before
Coroners Jury they tell dozen different stories.
Friend wear from now, | can recall this wild March
evening with ali its environments. Yourself these
other men, the room. the state of the weather. all,
will revolve round the figure six, it were, even
the hands of my watch point to it on the hour.
Il shudder to think here he squared his attitude
and threw a long, almost accusing finger at LandOr,
who masked his uneasiness behind a mOcklng grim
i shudder think sir, of the who have gone to
unhaowed graves because of this criminal looseness
and vagueness of observation. Most men seldom
think If you could peer into the mirror of their
minds you'd see chaos You'd see distorted fancies
whns of instinct capriciOus notions, hare Drained
vagaries, crotchets indecisiOn, all dominated by
pose which bends and twists everything either to
guilt innocence. 1t pervades all classes The
highborn historian sets out to write Life; NapO-
Icons for instance He makes the either
demon or a demigod, the one or the other. Never
normal being with good and bad in him
Why, friend, speaking of this very fact of its
being six o'clock I'll bet that he reproduced the