Evening star., 1921-09-28
CONTINUED from Yesterdays Star.)
WOLVES ON THE SCENT.

WOLVES ON THE SCENT.
Guards on the raised platforms at
either end of the room. guards cir
culating among the striped figures
that toiled over the work benches,
guards watching everywhere. They
aroused a new and sullen fury in
Dave Henderson's soul. They seemed
to express and exemplify today in a
sort Of hideous clearness what Bar
jan had told him last night that he
might expect in all the days to fol-
low.
His number was up on the board!
He had not slept we'll last night
Barjan did not know it. but Earjan
had struck q blow that had, In
mental way, sent him groggy to. the
was in confusion. 1t reached out In
this direction-and faltered. not quite
sure Of itself; it groped out in an
| other direction-and faltered. 1t
seemed to have lost its equilibrium
and it's poise. He had never expected
back while he walked from the peni-
tentiary to Mrs. Tooler's pigeon cote
and tucked that package OF hun
dred thousand dollars under his arm
| In that sense Barjan had told him
nothing new. But nevertheless Bar
tell just where in the conversation. at
just precisely what point, Barjan had
done this, nor could he tell in any
concrete way just what new difficult
ties and obstacles Barjan had reared
up. He had always expected that
| it was up to him to outwit the police
when he got away from these cursed
guards But his mind was haggard
| this afternoon. He had lashed 1t.
| driven it too hard through the night
and through the morning. 1t had lost
| tenacity; it would not define. The
and would not be dislodged was the
unreal, snatch of nightmare out
of the little sleep. fittul and troubled.
| that he had had. He was swimming
across a dark, wide pool whose banks
| were all steep and impossible except
and here a figure worked feverishly
with a pile of huge stones. building
Iup a wall against him. He swan
frantically, like a madman; but for
every stroke he took, the figure add
ed another stone to the wall: and
bank the wall was massive and high.
and Barjan was perched on the top
of the wall ginning at him.
He raised his hand. and drew it
across his eyes. The cIatter and
clamor in the carpenter shop here
| around him was unendurable. The
thud Of a hammer Jared upon him.
jangling his nerves; the screech of
| the bandsaw. little way down the
shop, was like the insane raving of
| some devil. with a devils perverted
sense of humor. running up and down
DEVILS scale. There were sixty
| two days left.
| His eyes fell upon old Tony Lo-
mazzi a few benches away. Showing
under Tonys cap, the hair. what there
was of it. was silver-more nearly
silver than it had somehow ever
seemed to be before. Perhaps the
prison barber had been a little late
| this time. perhaps it was because ii
was a little longer. perhaps that was
| it. 1t was strange though, rather
queer. His eyes, arrested now, held
| on the other. and he seemed to be
noticing little details that had never
attracted his attention before. His
own hands. that mechanically retain
ed their grip upon the plane he had
been using. were idle now. Certain
| ly those old shoulders over there were
more bowed and bent than he had
ever seen them before. And the
striped form was very frail; the
clothes hung on it as clothes
4
only the old fellows side face in
view, for the others back was par
! TALLY turned, but it appeared to pos
sess quite a new and startling un.
| familiarity. 1t wasn't the gray white
unhealthy pallor-old Tony wasn't the
only one who had that, for no one
| had ever claimed that there was any
analogy between a penitentiary and a
health resort-but the jowl was most
curiously gaunt and drawn inward as
| though the man were sucking in his
| cheeks, and yet the skin seemed to
| be stretched tight and hard as a
| drum head. Very curious! 1t must
be because he couldn't see the sharp
little black eyes. full of fire, that put
| life and soul into that scarecrow
| frame.
| Old Tony turned. and their eyes met
| The old man lifted his hand as though
\ to wipe his mouth-and there was a
little f1irt of the fingers in Dave Hen.