The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1920-07-23

1t is one of the advantages of being
) the Devil that any little good thing
he may do looks very good. In the
same way a shady citizen might take
some pride in a deed that would get
a minister awfully talked about. It's
all matter of comparison; just as
gray looks white against dead black
background, whereas it would lock
dirty against pure white.
This, of course, isn't an argument
for being any wickeder than you have
to be; it's merely recognition of a
fact. And recognition of that fact
has good deal to do with the case
of Sinkers Malone
On the day, particularly fine
spring Sunday, when his term in
States prison expired, Sinkers found
g, pocketbook 1t was lying in the rich
brown May mud beside the walk, and
since it was rich brown color itself,
it had escaped the attention of few
hundred people who were passing on
their way home from church.
Perhaps they missed it partly be-
cause their thoughts and eyes were on
higher things.
Sinkers saw it because he was
slouching along, in a mood of homi-
cidal bitterness, with his eyes on the
ground.
Right here we ought to stop to cor
rect any immoral inference that might
be drawn from the fact that Sinkers
found the purse while churchgoers
missed it, and we would if morality
weren't so much less in demand than
action. The end of man is an action,
not thought, said the Greek philos-
opher and we agree with him. There
fore we merely note that Sinkers
scooped that purse up with one quick
dip and swing, dropped it into a side
pocket, and slouched on as if nothing
had happened, but anybody who had
noticed Sinkers both before and after
taking would have been struck by his
improved appearance.
It was the easiest way in which
Sinkers had ever come by pocket
book, and he had come by some pocket
books very easily at that. His recent
sojourn ''up the river had been init
mately connected with coming by
pocketbooks, other peoples pocket
books, too easily. By trade and prefer
ence Sinkers was dip" which is a
pet name for pickpocket, and he EFT
joyed some reputation among the po-
1icemen and various shady citizens of
his circle. 1t was not on account OF
any lack of skill that he had taken
his last trip up the river; he had been
''squealed on by an intimate friend.
Therefore his mood was so particu-
larly homicidal. 1t was bad enough
to be sent up because of bungled
job, but when a person is sent up
after a clean getaway, through no
fault of his own, but a five-times-
compoundedly cursed "squealer"-that
is good cause for murder, or at least
for justifiable homicide.
Three blocks away Sinkers took the
opportunity offered by turning a corner
to look behind him. No one seemed
to be interested in him, and he al
lowed himself to glance inside his
find.
"Why, look, who's here?" he re-
marked to his inner consciousness.
By "who" he referred to Bill; for the
first thing that struck his eyes was a
yellow-backed William, marked with
two sawbucks, most pleasant to be-
hold. There were two five-dollar bills
and two to keep the larger one from
being lonesome.
Sinkers hurried them back into his
pocket. For the next half a dozen
blocks the joyous knowledge of their
presence interfered with his thoughts
of justified homicide. His face light
ened until it bore faint resemblance
to the lighted faces of some of those
persons he had passed on their way
home from church.
At the sight of a girl lettering on a
street corner half block ahead his
face lightened even more. The girl
saw him and hurried forward to meet
him. She was pretty in her girlishness
and spotless black and white cotton
dress; her big eyes were the exact
color of the May sky overhead and
they held something of the sky's soft
ness as they looked at Sinkers. Mel
Their the sky nor the eyes seemed to
distrust Sinkers, disreputable object
and shady citizen though he undoubt-
eddy was
"Hello!" he said.