Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-15

street. Half way down the block a man
lurched unsteady in a kind of snake
movement. And a woman in sodden
black steadied herself when there was
something 10 steady against.
A little way along the street, as one
turned west from Seventh avenue. there
was the shadow of building. And in
this shadow. where it was deepest, a
pool of humanity had collected-four
or five men-or, rather, boys-Tith
narrow brows and staccato voices. They
spoke seldom. these beetle proved boys.
But when they did the words shot from
the corners of their mouths, and to the
average listener their jargon would have
been uninteligible save for the heavy
sprinkling of profanity with which they
peppered it.
They huddled there quietly enough,
shadows within a shadow, until a
stream of light cut athwart them and
the purr of a motor echoed through
the street. A car had turned into Four
tenth street, headed west--a long,
-colored car. slung low, with the
gleam of we'll polished metal. It came
straight toward the group in the shadow
Of the building, throwing each crouched
figure into deep relief.
Suddenly, as the car neared the curb,
it stopped with a grinding of brakes
and slithering of tires along the pave
ment. A man leaped out. straight at
the figures in the stream of light.
"Cooties!" he shouted almost before
his feet touched the pavement. Get
the-get!"
Like magic the group disintegrated.
its component parts scattering in all
directions. except for one youth whose
back had been toward the car. The
flying figure was too quick for him. An
arm swung ont and caught the befud-
died laggard about the neck. cutting
off his breath The boy writhed and
twisted to be free of tlle encircling arm
His shoulders heaved lifting their bur-
den Off the ground. HIS back bent
as If he carried a sack of meal too
heavy for him. But the cruel hold that
face. did not relax. He stumbled with
his burden out of the stream of light
into the shadow.
At this iuncture a girl who had been
budding in the single seat of the
cream colored car rose and leaned over
the side, strainng her eyes toward the
blur of struggling figures just outside
the path of light. She was a smallish
girl, slender, but with sturdiness about
her compact figure. She was hatless,
and her hair. of lively chestnut shade
IIlot CUulu bt CdllCd leu hl tllC SOll-
light, was blown about her broad brow
and delicately rounded checks. She was
Young. 10 perhaps; certainly not more
than 90
NELL" she called Come back! Oh.
Neil. they'll hurt you! Neil! Please"
She pleaded, little tremolos of fright
sending her voice to falsetto.
If the young man who had been her
companion in the car heard her. he
~ 1Ak
her plea She detected the scuffling of
feet over there in the darkness, grunts
oaths.
Then. suddenly. the scufiing was
drowned by a sharp report that cracked
along the street. shaUering the silence.
saturating the night with menace. A
gun had barked
The girl screamed and began to climb
from the car. Diagonally across from
her one Of the young things in sleazy
chiffon was emitting high squeaking
roises. The other ore had been dragged
to her knees by her young man. who, at
the first crack Ct the gun, dropped to
the ground. f1attening himself on his
stomach, one elbow on the sidewalk, his
hand fumbling at his hip.
As the girl in the cream-colored car
leoped to the ground, a second car. a
limousine. which had turned into the
street simultens ously with the bark of
the gun drew alongside. It's occupants.
three young men, jumped out and raced
toward her. The first one TO reach her
caught her arm.
stay where you are!' the deep voice
of the stranger commanded her. Then,
to the two young men with him: Steve,
you and Dew see what's going on over
there. Ill le,ok out for the lady"
Let me &c! Let me go!" the girl
cried. Mel, are you hurt? Over there"
she Indicated. pointing toward the place
where she had last seen the struggling
figures. "rl,ey were there a second ago.
Won't somebody do something! Oh,
Neil!"
The two strangers addressed as Steve
and Dew started in the direction tndi-
Gated by her shaking finger. Lights be-