Evening star., 1920-02-29
IN G MINOR

Dresslar. ] new that 1T belonged to
him. ] was there quito by accident,
understand. There was a tempest of
January rain and wind and had gone
inside his gateway for shelter 1t was
then that saw the something good to
eat an the sideboard, which weighed
: Ealf ton.
"a temptation: Hardly that. A
temptation implies a sense OF doing
wrong. and struggle against 1t. But
J experienced not the smallest prick of
conscience; | underwent no fight what
ever. ] was starving--just that. When
mans lungs are bursting for air he
gulps at any sort OF atmosphere which
chances TO be about him; when man
is starving for food he just takes the
nearest. l don't put up defense, a
Justification: ] state fact
THE sheer power OF the unfed hu-
man animal drew me to the window
There were two doors in the room, and
one standing open led to another room.
part OF which l could just see. l was
wondering IL any one were in there
when man came striding through the
door He walked three times round the
immense dining room tale and out again
through the same doorway. Suddenly
in he came again. Round and round he
went His face was turned to the Per-
sian rugs upon the floor. There was as
much blood in that mans face as you
will find in a marble bust. He kept
moving his arms up and down, his fists
clenchcd. as IL he was striking some
thing. ] saw the iron set of his jaws,
the glitter Of his eyes, which reflected
God knows what agony tearing at his
heart. Suddenly he went out again,
continuing his insane promenade in the
adjoining room.
This man was Dresslar. ] knew him
from his photograph which had ap-
peared in newspapers Walter Minshull
Dresslar. the financier. I remembered
recent whispers OF his difficulties. Evil
IDENTIFY those whispers did not lie. Here
was a man who found himself on the
edge OF Tophet. on the lip of the gulf
II remember a grim sort OF chuckle
rising to my lips. ], too, had been a
spcculator in a small way. Here was
another Of them; foremost OF his time
one OF the great gilded gamblers of New
York city: here was the prismatic bubble
about to become a splash Of dirty
water
The speaker paused. struck by his
own bitterness Of tone, checked by his
own eloquence, self-consclousness re-
turning Some one handed him a cigar
case.
At this juncture ! noticed. with the
nerest flicker OF casual interest.
stranger standing by pillar weh out
side the group of listening men. Half
in shadow, he leaned against the marble
column and smoked a cigarette. 1t was
only the fact that he was new. mem
ber of the Oddments--to me at least
which drew my momentary attention.
The voice OF Standish came again.
"Dresslar did not reappear in the din
ing room: but then he might have done
so at any moment. lie was, as | said
in the adjoining room, the door of which
was trifle ajar Possibly he had
dropped into a chair there. or flung
himself on a sofa. ] tried one Of the
dining room windows. They had not
been locked for the night, and it yielded
to my pressure. ] pushed it higher and
higher. making no sound. What did !
mean to do? / meant to snatch a meal
from the sideboard; that is to say,
was obeying the call of hunger, OF
starvation. And If there Is any man
here who has not known that CALI he
Is altogether incompetent TO sit in judg-
ment on the case.
'The wind rolnped through the win
dow had opened and blow the cur
tains inward. climbed to the sill. it
was ticklsh proposition. ] did not
want more than five or ten seconds
without interruptions but then Dresslar
might come out again before one o:
them had passed.
81 listened intently for any sign OF his
temperance. Some one was playing
piano in a room above. did not know
that strange, that bizarre melody. al the
, time. was scarcely aware that ir'
penetrated my consciousness; yet rec
ognized II when ! heard it two years
later at a grand concert. 1t WAS The
Rallade." in G minor. by Chopin.
II got one leg across the sill Of the
window. then the other. Now or never!
] dropped lightly into the room. The
sideboard was a dozen PAGES distant.
had covered half Of them when Dresslar
came raging into the room again.
II received terrible shock. ! had
thought myself a desperate man, but
II the pluck Of desperation had been