The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1924-11-03

"fEEJ uErTENF' NE ASKED
iHE KNEW MY CONDITION
transaction with tho pavubmE,r
w.rc ruHr
had NOT eaten Tor Or hours BE
7 fore tlBt Z had eaten suuthy not
moro than once day Tor H.E
months 40 % sandwich man. as Hn
Iculud man when I could Ett "a sob
aH guardian or m1iorc1fa parked on
the city streets. i hud managed 60
|pick up enough. added % tho reHull-
I uf frequent trips 20 tho pawnab0p. 10
Ipay my small rental and buy myself
Z au occasional meal Uut fpf che i1rf
ItNo dBy 1 had earned nothing Aud
I vHH Too proud 10 6fs To-day
Twas starving
I D recognized chat TACT at lass
Starvation! Tigi unless i welded
10 the impulse ~ Hrlf-desirucli0n.
= w15 my inevitable end. The battle
Mas over. even tho might postpone
SURRENDER fgr q Tow hours longer. J..
born aria bred in luxury. educated in
I the best university I'm America. n
I c0uuoifseur o. tho fno arts. would
/ die ga b.ackrst poverty. And prob.
ably The only person 10 mourn would
be little Peter Cannon. the landlady'a
son. whom I had frequently amused
with tricks 81 ieErulemaiu
~ least. tho. would die owing
nothing. So rasc. putting The min.
airr ~ ms pocket. and unstsadiiy
. icrrtndcl tho sillra 10 Tho street.
walked uptown 20 Washington
square. then crossed 70 Sixth ave.
Tho oily gentleman with hard
black eyes. with whom I had bad no
( many little transactions In tho past.
looked up an tho bell on the door
tangled ut my entrance, n was an
uufloufHhinE establishment that be-
fan. J never was compelled to meet
curious cyfa.
But this evening no war engaged
lie leaned acrosz the counter whia-
I pcriuE 10 a client who also looked UP
az my arrival lie looked away
again swiftly. but not before had
Time 10 gain an impression OF ahrewd
eyea rat-tTnp mouth. n diamond
shirtHud. n rich fur collar and a
general atmosphere OF money.
wondered vaguely why ono 70 nppar-
entity prosperous should be dickcrinE
with a pawubrpEcr.
AH waited fur ms friend wcin-
borg 20 finish with the other man
and attend 30 nc. I somehow seemed
10 sense that, whatever had been tho
subject of their conversation before
my entrance. their talk now concern
cd ms. The furcollarcd Ectlcmnn
glanced over his shoulder at me. not
once but two or three times. and
seemed 10 be putting questions to the
pawnbrokcr.
Then WcinbcrEs visitor. turning
his collar M so Tint his flnshy shirt
stud was hidden, nodded abruptly Is
the proprietor and walked out Of the
shop Ills hard eyes searched my
face aE he passed However. hc did
not pause and I promptly forgot him
under stress OF my negotiations with
/ Weinberg.
/ ! had done too much business with
4 tho pHwnbrokcr for him 10 believe
that there was any remote chance OF
my rcdecminR the goods which ]
7 pledged with him. / had every rca.
son 90 believe that he took advantage
Of my poverty; yet / was too proud
TO open negotiations elsewhere.
/ did not hagglc. ! asked for ten
dollars: the ivory nlono was worth
moro than that, ] believed: the silver
( frame in which tho portrait was SGT
must also have been worth az least
ten dollars. 1ntrinsicnlly. tho thing,
as n work Of art, was worth hun.
dreds. Sontlmcntally. Il was price.
less. But tho need Of Mrs. Cannon
was beyond anything else. took
the five dollars that Weinberg OF.
fcrcd and went out.
Tho midwiutcr air had grown
chlllicr with the later hours. ] shud.
derod as stopped from the close at.
mosphcre OF the pawnshop upon the
sidewalk.
had promised Mrs. Cannon her
money within an hour could keep
my promise and siill have time, be-
fore paying her in which to satisfy
my nnguished stomach. | walked up
Sixth ave toward mean little res.
taurunt where ! could dine chcaply.
was as near TO an animal as IL X
possible for man TO be. My whSo
being was concentrated on tho effort
to conserve my energies so that |
would not collapse before reaching
the restaurant. SO, when a man laid
u hand on my shoulder haltlng my
feeble progress, | turned on him with
snHrl, ! was ut the door of the
place where | planned TO satiufy my
hunger, and a delay maddened me.
Let go" I cried
recognized my gentleman of the
fur collar at once lie stepped
sltghtly back, then smiled lngtutint-
lnEly.
Take It easy son, he said. ~
\ Ntuut IA inIIs A., y,t