Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-12-27
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nAvE HENDERSON shrugged his
~ shoulders, impatient with himself,
AZ the guard opened door aud motioned
him 70 enter. It was absurd, ridiculous !.
Who had ever heard OF one prisoner
visiting another in this fashion? There
rouldn't have been any satisfaction in
I, anyhow, with a guard pacing up and
down between them. Well, then, who
was III
The door closed behind him-he was
subconsciously aware that the door had
,lo,ed and that the guard had left him
IN himself. He was also subconsciously
aware that his hands had reached out
!, front Of him and that his fingers
we're fjercely laced in the interstices of
The heavy steel netting Of the in
clo,ure I'm which he stood, and that he
faced another row Of steel wire netting,
sopsrated from his own only by the
srace that was required to permit the
,usrd TO pace up and down between
tho two-only the guard hadn't come in
rct from the corridor TO take up his
station there. There was only a face
p.erIng at him from behind that other
row of netting--a fat facc---the face
was supposed TO be smiling, but II was
like tho bidcous grin OF n gargoylc. 1t
was the same face, the same face with
it's rolls of fat propped up on its sh
stumpy neck. There wasn't any cha
in It, except that the red trimmed
cves werc more shifty. That was the
only change in five years--tho eyes were
more shifty. He found that his mouth
WAS dry, curiously dry. The blood wasn,t
running through his veins, because his
fingers on the wire felt cold--and yet
he wss burning, the soul OF him sud
denly like some flaming furnace, and o
mad, passionate fury had him in its
grip, and a lust was upon him to reach
that stumpy neck where the throat was,
and-and---- He had been waiting five
Years for that--and he was simply
smiling, just as that other face was
smiling. Why shouldn't he smile That
fat face was Bookic Skarvan's face.
II guess you weren't looking to sec
me, Dave?" said Skarvau. noddlng his
head in a sort of absurd cordiality.
Maybe you thought l was sore on you,
and there's no use saying | wasn't.
That was nasty crack you handed nc.
II TSdeman hadn't come across with
another bunch of coin on the jump.
those pikers down at the track would
have pulled me to pieces. But I didn't
feel sore long, Dave-that mint me.
And that amt why kept away"
The man was quite safe, of course. I
on account Of those wire gratings, and
on account of the guard who was some
where out there in the corridor. 1t was
very peculiar that the guard was not
pacing up and down even now in this
little open space between Bookie Skar
van and himsclf-very peculiar. Bootie
was magnanimous--not to be sore Hc
wanted to laugh. out in sort of mani
acal bysteria. only he would be fool
to do that because there were sixty
two days left before he could get his
fingers around that greasy, fat throat,
and he must not scare the man off now.
lie had a debt to pay-fve years OF
prison, those days and nights and hours
Of torment when he had been wounded
thing bounded almost to death. Ger
lainly, he owed all that to this man
here. The man had cunningly planned
TO have him disappear by the murder
route, hadn't he? And he owed Bookic
Sksrvan for that too II it hadn't beeh
for that he would have got away with
the money. and there wouldn' / have been
hve years Of prison. or those hours of
physical torment, Oh
He lifted his hand and brushed it
heavily across his forehead. lie was
quite cool now. perfectly in control of
himself. The man didn't have even n |
suspicion that he. Dave Henderson. |
knew these things. lie mustn't put the |
other on his guard--thcrc were still |
itts-two days during which these pris-
on walls held him impotent. and during
which another, warned. could get very
FAR out Of reach. Yes. hc was quite |
rool now. He was even still smiling. |
WASH hcF He could oven play the !
man like hooked fish. 1t wasn't time
10 land the other yet. But il was
strange that Rookie Skarvun should .
have come here at all. Booktc wasn't
4 fool he hadn't come here for moth
ing, What was it the man wanted? (
AIN I YOU glad 10 see mo. DavCt" ,
demanded Rookie Skarvan quite joc,-
Iarly. Cause, if YOU amt now,
Won will be before | go.
:, What do you mean" inuuircd DAY? ,
Henderson coolly.
Notice anything queer about what'S
long here right nt this minutc?' .
nookic's left eye closed IN u significant
wins Sure, YOU do. There nin't
WHny guard buttiug in, Dave. Get me-