Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-04-05
When TheL Lid
IS On
Continued from page 81
Continued from page 81

failed; he Strengthened up, wheeled toward
the door with an angry, " Come on, Punk. y
Half an hour after midnight, when young
Candess, nearly four hundred dollars worse
off than nothing at all, was dealing the cards.
the door and the windows fell in with a
crash. "Stove, Jack" yelled Mullins,
throwing in the pack at his table.
A dozen policemen were in the room,
were rushing from every direction upon Jack
Candess He tossed the cards into the
blaze Mullins, in panic, made pass at
the flying pack to help it along; four cards
struck on the rim of the stove door, huttered
to the floor. Jack sprang for Them picked
them up. Before he could fling them into
the flames that had devoured the others, two
policemen had him. "We've got you all
right sonny, anyway" said one of them as
he twisted Jacks hand over and exposed the
proof of his crime-four aces.
Yes, you've got me, y replied Jack. |
can't win, even with four aces" And he
laughed; there are times when man laughs
to save himself from bursting into tears.
At half past one the prisoners were bailed
out by the sporting fraternity's professional
bondsman, Jack the last because Mullins,
eager for a scapegoat, had got the idea, and
had proclaimed it loudly and bitterly, that
Candies was responsible for the aid" he's
one of those damned leaky-mouthed Chicago
fake sports" Jack sent off a sheaf of tele-
grams. He had hopes of only one-the one
to Shag Reynolds-not much for that; for,
he had completely lost his nerve, lost that
deep down confidence in his luck which had
never before deserted him. He paused at
the entrance of the bridal suite of the United
States; and no suicide paused for the fatal
leap with wilder turmoil in brain and vein.
He knew Olga would be in bed would pre-
tend to be asleep.
He entered the empty room like an actor
going out upon the stage-Wlth not a hint
of care i'll his face or manner, with bright
audacious eyes and with lips puckered in an
inaudible whistle. A glance at the closed
door of Olga's bedroom, and he went into
his own. He had told her always to lock
herself in carefully; he tried the door be-
tween their bedrooms, found it unlocked.
He gently pushed it open, peered in. As the
only lights were in the parlor, there was
no danger that she would be reused by a
glare upon her eyelids.
Her windows were flung wide, and the
night air was streaming in. AS soon as his
eyes expanded so that he could see by the
starlight, he made out her form in the bed
her face upon the pillow, the thick braids of
her dark hair round her small head-those
delicate, childish features Why, she's
only child God help mel What have
done, marrying her? | must have been
crazy must be damn sight worse than
thought" For him, as for Punk, sport was
a rise in life, was the pursuit of the loftier of
the only two careers opening from his school
of the streets and the gangs-the career of
the professional crook and the career of the
professional sport But love and marriage
had set him to doubling, to thinking that
perhaps, for the kittens sake he would do
we'll to drop his profession for one she would
be less likely to have a prejudice against.
Now Two weeks married; not a cent in
the world; prison, stripes, surely his unless
the right answer came to the telegram he had
sent his one flush and friendly acquaintance,
old Shag; prison. stripes, and this child wife
of his awakening from her dream of love to
realize all in one blasting horror that she was
the wife of gambler and Jail bird A Jail
birds Wife Jack groaned aloud. Then he
refined himself in so sharply that his heart
almost stopped beating. The form so grace
fully billowing the covers stirred
"Jack-is it your" came in low voice.
feignedly full of sleep.
81 didn't mean to wake you, Olga" he
said regretfully And he made for his door,
" Good night dear"
But IN wide awake now" she pleaded.
- DIoooo CoD,o and toll 70 mo n