The diamond drill., 1921-05-28
Illustration. By A. w.il


not be determined In the darkness,
my eyes merely discerning the out
lines OF a tall building, without a
CLEAN Of light showing anywhere
from top to bottom. The front OF the
restaurant, however. was brilliantly
lit, and a colored man In uniform
promptly held open the door as we
began descending the stairs.
Within the vestibule maid re-
ileved us OF outside wraps, and thus
unencumbered we advanced through
open doors directly into the main
room. This was a surprisingly large
apartment, filled with tables of va
rious sizes and shapes, the majority
occupied by men and women, either
eating or drinking. Near the center
was a cleared space for dancing, but
at that moment unoccupied. while
against the farther wall, on rather
high stage, two cabaret singers were
noisily entertaining the crowd. Alto
gether 1t was a stirring and attractive
scene, bearing to my mind no re-
semblance of any preconceived notion
OF the underworld. I could have cas-
ilY imagined that we had entered,
rather, the restaurant OF an ultra
fashionable hotel the other side Of
Broadway.
Nor did our entrance create the
slightest interest, beyond awakening
the attention OF the head walter. who
met us smillngly.
"A table for two, M'sieurf
IA booth, please; have you one
neAr the centerf" and / slipped bill
into his hand, which closed II Instant
ay out OF sight.
"Ah, certainly; the very thing,
MsIeur. I will show you. Francois,
the central booth for the gentleman.
All. see, Msleur-bien, tres blenw
II was indeed a cozy spot, with the
heavy curtains held aside. A divan
OF soft plush across the end, a table
covered with snowy linen, and already
glistening with silver and glass. in
the center, and three exceedingly com
Portable chairs.
'1t Is very fine, M'sieur," said
"Quite TO my satisfaction. You might
lower one OF those curtains, II you
will. Yes, that is much better. Is
Francois our walter?"
"Oui, Msieur; you would be seryed7
The table de holt, Francois. These
dishes are ready--but, M'sieur, we
serve quickly whatever you wish"
He spread his hands expressively,
glanced swiftly about to assure him
self all was well. and backed out, still
politely bowling, leaving the attentive
Francois beside me, pad in hand. At
my suggestion the lady gave the or
der, using discretion, thought, while
I supplemented with q bottle OF wine,
In spite OF the energetic negative con-
veyed to me across the table AS the
waiter departed l surveyed my com
panlon, realizing as never before how
extremely attractive she was. She
must have read something OF this in
my eyes, for her own smiled visit
fully.
what is it you were thinking
about?"
Perhaps had better not tell"
Another secret? Well, then. an
swer thls-what do you think OF
Perond's7"
Actually / am unable TO realize
where ! am" | answered honestly.
''The contrast from those dark streets,
suggestive Of crime, to this brilliancy
Is altogether too sudden. 1t has left
me dazed; my mind refuses to func-
tlon."
1T affected me that way the FIRST
visit / could not convince myself of
the true nature OF the place; II
seemed-well, altogether too respect
able. always associated the under
world with roughness and poverty, po-
lice surveillance, and all that. But
look out there; II Is like a big hotel
dining-room after the play. Those
women-some OF them, nj least-are
really elegantly dressed. and In excel
lent taste, and there Is no more noise
no more coarseness, than have wit
messed at the Waldorf. The men are
not bad-looking, either, do you thlnkP"
"Well, there are all grades here,
now that look about; yet. as you
say. the average is not bad. Prob
ably they will grow louder later in the
evening, when they take the lid or"
II don't believe they ever do-that
is, entirely. Mr.. Mclaughlin, the de-
tectlve who came with us, said this
was really the most dangerous place
IN town from the police viewpoint. It's
very surface quiet made II special
menace. Nothing was ever permitted
TO occur here which would give the
department any excuse for a raid. II
there was fight, or even a murder,
II was hushed up instantly, and the
victim hidden away, before even the
patrolman on the block could hear
about II. He mentioned several cases;
and said the walters were especially
selected TO take care Of any rough