Evening star., 1926-05-09
FIRE, LIFE AND DEATH
r., RpnnpH
Bv Arnold Bennett
At 65 There Was 20 Pounds Between Him and Pauperism

What the obstinate. secretive oit. man
would do-what would happen. He
alone knew what would happen.
When he had laced his boots under
the candle and combed his hair. he
eXtinguished the candle and finished
his toilet in the dark. But the dark
was now twilight: The earth was re
volving as usual and in its revolution
bearing Bursley to the dawn. Mr..
Curtenty buttoned his greenlsh jacket,
tied an antique wooden muffier around
his collalless neck, put on his cap
and went forth into WoodiSun lane.
returned to the front door of the cot
tage in which he occupied one room,
and he received the poStman ma
4ctically on the doorstep.
Good morning" said the genial
postman.
Good morning To yOu.' said MI
Cultenty and took from the postman
a small blue official envelope.
In the privacy of the cottage stairs
he opened the envelope. It's contents
were quite in order-an authority to
withdraw the sum of > shillinss and
6 pence from the savings bank de
partment of the post office. Then Mr..
Curtenty drew from his breast pocket
a yellow hank book, which showed
that $40 stood 10 hiS credit. and he
carefully put the withdrawal form
within the book and replac the book
in his pocket.
Surely you are not surprised. a
prudent man must have something
up his sleeve for the last emergencies.
Mr.. Curtenty had maintained that
E20 in reserve throughout u year OF
privation and humiliation. He had
nh fn,a nd nj
than a. year.
IN the evening. about half-past :.
Mrs. Curtenty was lying in bed
(for warmth}, and Mr.. Curtenty was
sitting on one Of the two chairs. all
in the dark, when Mr.. Curtenty. after
a little shutting of his legs and
ScrunchinE of the chair legs on the
bare boards, suddenly rose and felt
his way to the door. where his cap
and muffier hung. The pair had had
two lean meals and one snack. All
the fish was eaten, but not quite all
the bread. Some tea remained for
breakfast. Mr.. Curtenty had been
abroad once, in the afternoon. and
during that period he had cashed the
warrant for ; shiliinSs and pence.
Whether or not his wife had gone
out in the same interval he did not
know. They had scarcely spoken to
each other-not from unfriendliness,
but from habit. Not q word had been
said about the morrow or Mr.. Cur
tenty's intention regarding the NOR
row. Mrs. Curtenty had not dared to
challenge him on the great matter,
Indeed, he could not safely be chal
lenged.
Mrs. Curtenty thought 10 herself
now. as she sometimes remarked to
her daughter:
''Thingsll work themselves out if
you leave EN- alone
This was her philosophy in face
of Mr.. Curtentys terrible estra nging
dignity and independence. All she
said was, as Mr.. Curtenty fumbled
at the door:
Where ye going
And all he replied was:
"a breath of air.
lie left without looking at the COM
panion of his life. Even If he had
looked at her he could not have seen
her in the darkness. Still, he might
have lit the last inch of candle for
a. few seconds and looked at her. for
the moment was one Of farewell after
a companionship Of 80 years. But his
sentimental emotions had been
nuNloeu, ITOZeII, ny Hls1oIlulte' ny
spiritual pride, by privation, by Sc
cretiveness, by hidden anger against
fate and by self-righteousness. So
he just went. He knew that his
young wife would fall asleep and stay
asleep.
He had not meant TO visit the Free
Reference Library in the Wedgwood
Institution. but as a measure of pre-
caution he decided to do so. He was
at home in that warm refuge Of the
unemployed. the Wedgwood Institu-
ton After the usual formalities he
obtained Quain's Dictionary Of
Medicine
His brain was absolutely clear. He
was not out OF his mind, nor out of
any part of his mind. Under no
circumstances would be migrate to his
son.in-law's. His wife might go: she
indeed would go; and she would be
happy there, or at least contented.
The 20 pounds Cess 2 shiliings and
sixpence) which he had guarded for
an ultimate contingency would be use
less to him, because too soon eX-
hausted. He might, Of course. fend
for himself, all alone, for a time
on the twenty pounds; but if he did so
his family would know for sure that
he had a secret hoard after all. and
he could not bear the revelation; it
would too seriously humiliate him.
Moreover, when the 20 pounds was
gone-what then? Merely the same
crucial, unanswerable problem as now!
No. He had had enough and there
could be but one answer to the in
sistent question, ITO be or not to
be?'
Quain was perfectly explicit: "The
soluble cyanides, more especially the
cyanide of potassium, largely used by
photographers and by electroplaters.
are common articles of commerce, and
produce the same deadly results as
the acid itself. The fatal dose of
prussic acid is the equivalent of less
than one grain of the anhydrous
acid
:: j. >. j;
LIE made his way to Critchiow IN
II st. Luke's square. Critchlow
was the oldest chemist al Bursley.
Critchlow's, however. was closed.
Monstrous that the shop should be
closed on that night of all nights.
Hollis clock. across the square, show
Ell six minutes to 8, and CritchloW's
had no right to be closed until 8.
But Critchlow's was closed.