Evening star., 1921-10-02
Continued from Yesterdays starr

Snuffed out! The thought that old
! Tony was dead affected him in
numbed, cropping sort of way. 1t had
come with such startling suddenness!
He had not grasped it yet. He won
dered whether he should be sorry
or glad for old Tony-death was the
lifer's goal. He did not know. 1t
brought. though, a great aching into
his own soul. 1t seemed to stamp
with the ultimate tonight the I'm.
measurable void in his own life. Old
Tony was the last link between him
that men called friendship. Millman
had denied it. outraged it, betrayed it;
and now old Tony had sWerved in
his allegiance. and turned away at
the call Of a greater friend. Yes
death could not be anything but a
friend to Tony. There seemed to be
no longer any doubt of that in his
mind.
Footsteps. several of them. came
| again along the iron gallery, racket.
not pass his cell this time; they came
from the other direction, and went
into Lomazzi's cell. 1t was strange
that this should have happened to-
night! There would be no more
shoulder touch in the lockstep for the
eyes and lips across the carpenter
shop: no surreptitious. intimate lit
| tie gestures of open hearted compan-
ionship! 1t seemed to crown in an
now with a new and appalling force
what. five minutes ago. he had
thought he had already appreciated
to it's fullest and bitterest depths
loneliness. He was alone-alone-
alone.
The murmur of voices came from
the. other cell. Time passed. He
clung there to the bars. Alone-with-
out help! The presence OF death
seemed to have infused itself into
. that thought. 1t seemed insidiously
to eat into his soul and being, to
make his mind sick and weary, whis-
tpering to him to capitulate because
he was alone. ringed about with
forces that would inevitably over
fiance-because he was alone-and 1t
would be hopeless to go further alone
without help
He drew back suddenly from the
door. conscious for the first time that
he must have been clutching and
straining at the bars with all his
strength. His fingers. relaxed now
were stiff. and the circulation seemed
to have left them. guard was
opening the door. Behind the guard
w4rden. He had always liked the
warden. The man was stern. but he
was always just. He did not under
stand why the warden had come to
his cell
1t was the warden who spoke
..Lomazsi is dying. He has begged
to be allowed to say good-by to you
II can see no objection. You may
come"
Dave Henderson moistened his lips
with the tip Of his tongue.
II thought ! heard them say he
was dead" he mnmhlpd
He was unconscious" answered
the warden briefly. "A heart attack
Step quickly; he has not many min
utes."
iron gallery. and paused for an in
slant before the door of the adjoining
cell. A form lay on the cot. form
with, a pasty-colored face: form
whose eyes were closed. The prison
doctor. a hypodermic syringe still in
his hand. stood a little to one side
Dave Henderson swept his hand
across his eyes-there was a sudden
mist there that blurred the scene
and. moving forward. dropped down
hand reached out and grasped his
feebly: the dark eyes opened and
fixed on him with flicker of the
old fire in their depths: and the lips
lquivered in a smile:
Old Tony was whispering-old Tony
always talked and whispered to him
self here in his cell every night
but old Tony never disturbed any
body-it was hard to hear old Tony
ieven when one listened attentively
Dave Henderson brushed his hand
across his eyes again. and bent his
thead to the others lips to catch the
words.
you mak-a da fool play when you
leone in here, Dave-for me. But !
never. never forget. Old Tony no
! II <lo al
when 1Gpee' you Ir go OF out. Old Tony knows.
You media de help. Listen-Nicolo
Capriano-Frisco. You understand?
Tony Lomazzi send-a you. Tony Lo-
maxi take-a da life prison for Mic
olo. Nicolo will pay back to Tony's
voice was growing feebler harder to
| understand. and 1t was fiuttering now
I-"that, because old Tony call-a you
da fool. he did-did not-remember-
arid-and-
| Some one disengaged Dave Hender-
sons hand from the hand that was
clasped around it. and that had sud
! denly twitched and. with spasmodic
clutch, had, seemed as though striv-
| ing to maintain it's hold.
The prison doctors voice sounded
mufT1ed in the cell:
"He is dead"
! Dave Henderson looked up at the
| touch Of guards hand on his shoul-
der. The guard jerked his head with
curt significance in the direction OF
the door.
BOOK 111-PATEs OF THE UNDER
WORLD.
l.
! THE DOOR ON THE LANE.
Was that a shadow cast by the Dro-
lection Of the door porch out there
across the street, or was itmore than
shadow? It was true that. to
remarkable degree. ones eyes became
accustomed to the murk. almost akin