The Ordway new era., 1922-05-19

| and that this had grown upon him as
he grew older.
Today his irritability was so
marked, his uneasiness so much
greater than anyone had seen it be-
fore, that the attendant whom Corvet
had sent. a half hour earlier, to re-
serve his usual table for him In the
| grill-"The table by the second win
| dow"-had started away without dar-
| ing TO ask whether the table was 10
\ be set for one or more. Corvet him.
| self had corrected the omission: "for
two" he had shot after the man.
The tables, at this hour, were all
unoccupied. Corvet crossed TO the
| one he had reserved and sat down :
he turned Immediately 10 the window
at his side and scraped on 1t little
clear opening through which he could
see the storm outside. Ten minutes
later he looked up sharply but did not
rise, as the man he had been await
ing-Spearman. the younger of his
two partners-came in.
Spearman seated himself. his big.
powerful hands clasped on the table.
his gray eyes studying Corvet closely.
The waiter took the order and went
away.
When he returned. the two men were
obviously in bitter quarrel. Corvet's
tone, low pitched but violent. sounded
steadily in the room, though his words
were inaudible The waiter, as he set
the food upon the table, felt relief that
Corvet's outburst had fallen on other
shoulders than his.
For nearly an hour the quarrel con-
tinued with intermitted truces of ST.
lence The waiter, listening. as wait
ers always do, caught at times single
sentences.
You have had that idea for some
tlme?" he heard from Corvet.
I'VE have had an understanding for
more than a month"
How definiteE"
Spearman's answer was not audible
but 1t more intensely agitated Corvet;
he dropped his fork and, after that,
made no pretense of eating.
The waiter, following this, caught
only single words. ''Sherrill"-that,
of course, was the other partner. Con
stance"-that was Sherrill's daughter.
The other names he heard were names
of ships. But, as the quarrel went on,
the manners Of the two men changed;
Spearman, who at first had been as
sailed by Corvet, now was assailing
him. Corvet sat back in his seat,
while Spearman pulled at his cigar and
now and then took it from his lips and
as he jerked some ejaculation across
the table.
Corvet leaned over to the frosted
window, as he had done when alone,
and looked out. Spearman shot COM
ment which made Corvet vince and
draw back from the window; then
Spearman rose. Corvet looked up at
him once and asked a question, to
which Spearman replied with snap
of the burnt match down on the table;
he turned abruptly and strobe from
the room. Corvet sat motionless.
The revulsion to self-control, some
times even to apology, which ordina-
rily followed Corvet's bursts of irrita-
tion had not come to him; his agita-
tion plainly had increased. He pushed
from him his uneaten luncheon and
got up slowly. He went out to the
coat room, where the attendant hand
ed him his coat and hat.
He WINGED as he stepped out into
the smarting, binding swirl of sleet,
but his shrinking was not physical; 1t
was mental, the unconscious reaction
to some thought the storm called ND.
The hour was barely four O'Clock, but
so dark was it with the storm that
the shop windows were lit; motorcars,
slipping and skidding up the broad
boulevard, with headlights burning,
kept their signals Gathering CON
stantly to warn other drivers blinded
by the snow. The sleet-swept side
walks were almost deserted; here or
there. before hotel or one of the
shops, limousine came to the curb
and the passengers dashed swiftly
across the walk to shelter.
Corvet turned northward along
Michigan avenue, facing into the gale.
The sleet beat upon his face and
lodged in the folds of his clothing
without his needing it.
He continued to go north. He had
not seemed, in the beginning to have
made conscious choice of this direc-
ton; but now he was following 1t pur-
posely. He stopped once at shop
tTrtl ltf.t ef,Il fs. tl,f.
ephone call. He asked for Miss Sher-
rill when the number answered; but
he did not wish to speak to her, he
said; he wanted merely to be sure she
would be there if he stopped in to
see her in half an hour. Then-north
again He crossed the hrifIra Nn.u