The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1920-12-17

food, alcohol and truculent perfume
the smoke of imitation Turkish tobac
co hung In lazy, lilac reefs. Discol
ored paper of morbid pattern was
parting in reluctant spirals from the
walls Dust Of decades weighed down
an elderly carpet and obscured its
fiorid design. Scorbutic paint disfg
ured the fine old woodwork!
The man who had let Leonora in
having resumed his chair, twelve were
seated at a table Uttered with debris
or meal, unclean earthenware plates
and those high-shouldered bottles of
dark glass, guiltless of labels, which
seem to be the sole habitat of the vim
du pays so generally known as ''red
ink" that to pame it by this alias no
-onger excites a smile.
Because of the heat all the men but
one-Mr. Harry the Nut-had put off
their coats and collars, while the wom-
en- had loosened their blouses at the
throat. Sweat beaded faces of various
complexions. ranging from the san
guine countenance of Red to the pasti-
ness Of Charlie the Coke. LeOnora,
looking from one to another, found
each, with the exception of Reds, sui
len of cast if not openly hostile. She
sketched lofty smile.
What's the funeral?"
Red Carnehan-reG of head and
hand-an Italo-Celtic product, as slen-
der, supple and sinewy as snake, and
as deadly-replied sufficiently, 'No-
body's-yet." AMI again waved a hand
toward the vacant chair N"Whyn't you
sit DOWN." He added: You're pretty
late"
What about it?' The girl fiounced
to the table and threw herself side
ways into the chair.
| English Addie, blonde, blousy and
| full-bodied, sprawled half across the
| table and, without removing the ciga-
| rette from her mouth, spoke i'm accents
OF cloying affection fatty denied by
her semi-sober stare OF jealousy:
Maybe you won't mind tellin' us
wat mide you lite, dearie ;"
Leonora experienced quaIm of mis-
glvlngs. Had somebody spied on her
and Mario and hurried ahead to tat
tie? Even So that was a matter
between Red and herself, nothing to
excite ill-feeling in the others. But
Red was apparently unruffled, although
unusually subdued for him, and per-
haps shade suspiciously impartial In
his attitude.
She lied readily, without a culver.
naming two plain-clothes men she had
noticed in the Street of Strange
Faces.
Ennis and Corbin lamped me on
the way here-if it's anything in your
young life, Addie dear-and l had to
chase all over to lose 'em."
"You did shake 'em, kid-sure?'
Red demanded with keen interest.
"Sure. If hadn't wouldn't be here
now"
maybe So" Charlie the Coke
drawled in a voice as colorless as the
flesh of his face-"maybe not"
where do you get that stuff?
What's all this, anyway? l want to
know"
Her eyes ranged again the array of
faces, challenging each in turn, and
getting no satisfaction; for each in
turn averted his gaze with an express
sion more or less sheepish and discon-
certed, all but Red, Harry the Nut, and
Inez, the third and only other woman
present.
"Well? What's it all about? Start
something, sOmebody-why don't YOU?
Ii anything's gone wrong, let me In the
know. | guess I've got as much right
as anybody"
The Nut shrugged and with super
cilious nonchalance selected another
cigarette from the fiat gold case he
was fond of displaying; circumstance
which, according to ones bias. might
or might not be taken as indicating
that the case had been honestly come
by. Inez seemed eager to speak, but
Red forestalled her.
'It's like this, kid: Eddie's been
pinched."
The fact that the person In question, |
being under indictment for burglary,
had for some time succeeded I'm re. |
naming at large solely by grace of his |
loyal associates, might have been |
thought enough to rob this announce |
ment of some of its staggering quality. |
But to Leonora it came as a genuine |
shock, and she showed it unmistak-
ably.
mol" she exclaimed, and added a |
most .r1nJa dylilyo pbraco of ,,;x-o5 A.
credulity and regret. Somebody's |
squealed."
That's just it." Inez affirmed sig
Il wonder who!'
Leonora needed little time before
she was able to couple the thinly.
yelled animosity of the gathering, to
which she had been sensible ever since
entering. with the tone employed by
Inez, something which this last would
ordinarily have lacked audacity to at
tempt. Then Immediately her temper
grew incandescent.
Meaning me?"
"Why, hon!'' Inez drawled, rounding
her whatever made you 4hink
that?'
But she committed the grieyous
error of trying to exchange with Red a
look of malicious understanding which
Leonora intercepted instantly. /,
Never you mind what made me
think that" she said in cold rage: 81
get you; amt blind and dumb. Rut
take it from NE, Inez: you chuck If i
and chuck it quick. If get one more ,
word out of you. trying to make me .
,ut stool-pigeol-if l ever see Won !
Ook that way at Red again-your peo-
)le'll have no kick coming" II