Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-03-15

expanse of MS garish red cravat
riot down his chest. Tie had re-
moved his derby hat. His purplish
face had assumed a deeper hue
Ethan usual, and, as he inhaled and
blew out the smoke of a cigaret,
the sound of his breath was ster-
torous. Occasionally a smile, ex-
pressive Of animal comfort, moved
the disfigured features in a pecu-
liar way. On the whole, the per-
son with the beady eyes was en-
joying life. He felt at ease.
There had been no warning
noise of any kind in the corridor
outside when the door opened, dis
closing the face and figure of Mr..
Charles Waller, who, without cere-
mony, entered the room. He had
never appeared quite so languid,
quite 50 slow, or quite so indiffer-
emf. He seemed bored to the point
Of extinction. AS he stood for a
moment, surveying the room and
It's occupant, he even neglected to
swing his cane. Life, it seemed,
rested upon him as a burden.
He was followed by a uniformed
policeman, who closed the door
quietly.
The msn in the armchair did not
speak. He merely looked at the
lntruders. There was the picture
for fully three minutes-he with
The beady eyes m~otionless and 81
lent, Waller still and interroga-
tive, and the policeman like a
statue. The man in the chair in
hailed a puff of smoke and watched
his visitors. Each waited for
speech from the other. There was
none.
Waller a the first to move. He
stepped forward slowly and, in a
manner that had the air of ex-
IRENE consideration, grasped the
ankles Of the beady eyed man and
removed the feet from the table.
The mar in the chair submitted to
that without sign of either pleas
ure or displeasure. Only, he be-
came more wary, more alert.
There was no longer any %stertor-
Gus sound in his breathing.
The policeman, removing his
helmet and keeping it in his left
hand, sat down on the side of the
bed. Waller, drawing a straight
backed chair to the table, took
from his pocket a pack of cards
and began a game of Garfield soil
talre. He devoted to it all his in
t@erest. The policeman, most of the
time, looked straight ahead Of him
at the blank wall opposite.
The nan in the armchair lit a
fresh cigaret, and, as he tossed
away the match, spun it from his
fore finger and thumb so that it
made a droning noise through the
air. Little beads Of p%erspiration
began to show on the upper part
eft his forehead near the roots of
his hair. Once he rubbed his
stockinged feet one against the
other.
Waller, having gotten out"
five cards, ran the deck together
and shuffled it eight times with
great care. Then he began all
over again. Neither he nor the po-
liceman looked at the man in the
chair. The newspaper mans luck
at Garfield was decidedly poor.
His second attempt got out only
four cards. He shuffled the pack
more slowly the next time, as if he
calculated how much money he
would have lost if he had been
playing for real money.
He was in the midst of his fifth
game when the beady-eyed man
reached down slowly, and, pulling
his shoes toward him, began to put
them on. When he had them on
ana llad laced Inem up, he rose to
his feet. There were now little
beads of perspiration on his nose.
Nobody said anything, but the po-
liceman went to the door in a leas-
nrely manner, locked it, and
dropped the key into his pocket.
When he had resumed his place on
the side of the bed, the man with
the red cravat sank back into the
/ armchair and laughed awkward
ly. It was the first sound that
had come from anybody mouth.
Waller. finishing that game,
shuffled the cards and began deal
ing again. The policeman famed
himself slowly with his helmet.
It was oppressive in the room. The
man they were visiting began to
look swiftly from one to the other.
Fear got hold of his features un-
mistakably.
When Cholliewollie, still alb
sorbed in the cards, was in the