Evening star., 1923-12-09

! have you come here?" she hoarsed
What business have you here?"
None" he glooped, none. l have
no business" They stood sensing one
! another.
II thought you were in Philadel-
phia." she said-her gown clinging to
| every fibre of her as she spoke.
Il was" he wheezed.
And you left it?" she sharped. her
| voice tense.
"I left it," he said. his voice
! glumping as he spoke. Need 1 tell
you why?" He had come nearer TO
J her.
mo. no." she gurgled. You left
1t. 1t is enough. l can understand"
she looked braveiy up at hint
| Then as he moved still nearer her
there was the sound of a sudden
| swift step in the corridor. The door
opened and there stood before them
the other man, the husband of the
woman-Edward Dangerfield.
THIS, of course, is the grand
L snoopopathic climax, when the
author gets all three of them-the
man, the woman and the woman's
lhusband-in hotel room at night.
But notice what happens.
J He stood in the opening of the
doorway looking at them, a slight
smile upon his lips, "Well?" he said.
fThen he entered the room and stood
for moment quietly looking into
the mans face.
"So," he said. sit was YOU" He
walked into the room and laid the
light coat that he had been carrying
over his arm upon the table. He
drew a cigar case from his waistcoat
pocket.
TRY one of these Havanas." he
said.
Observe the calm of it. This is
what the snoopopath loves-no rage,
tno ustering-calmness, cynicism.
He walked over toward the mantel-
/ piece and laid his hat upon it. He
set his boot upon the fender.
"It was cold this evening" he
said. He walked over to the win
dow and gazed a moment into the
dark.
This is a nice hotel" he said.
(This scene is what the author and
the reader love; they hate to let 1t
go. They'd willingly keep the man
walking up and down for hours say
ing "Well!")
The man raised his head! Yes,
it's a good hotel" he said. Then
he let his head fall again.
This kind of thing goes on until,
If possible, the reader is persuaded
Into thinking that there is nothing
igoing to happen. Then:
HE turned to the woman. Go
lin there he said. pointing to the
bedroom door. Mechanically she
jobeyed" The two men were alone.
lDangerfield walked over to the chair
where he had thrown his coat.
II bought this coat in st. Louis
last fall" he said. His voice was
quiet, even passionless. Then from
the pocket of the coat he took
revolver and laid 1t on the table.
tMarsden' watched him without a
word s'-
do you see this pistolT' said
iDangerfield.
| Marsden raised his head for a mo-
ment and let IT sink.
OF course the ignorant reader
keeps wondering why he doesn't ex-
plain. But how can he? What Is
there to say2 He has been found
out of his own room at nigAt. The
Ipenalty for this in all the 'snoopo-
pathic stories is death.
when we married" said Danger
field, glancing at the closed door as
he spoke. II bought this and the mate
to it-for her-just the same, with
the monogram on the butt--see! And
I said to her, If things ever 60 wrong
between you and me there IL always
this way out"
.IuE lifted the pistol from the table,
IL examining its mechanism. He
, rose and walked across the room till
he stood with! his back against the
door. the pistol in his hand, it's barrel
pointing straight at Marsden's neart.
!, Marsden never moved. Then as the
two men faced one another thus,
looking into one anothers' eyes, their
ears caught a sound from behind the
!. closed door of the inner room-a
, sharp, hard. metallic sound, ash some
lone in the room within had raised
the hammer Of q pistol--a 3eweled