Evening star., 1938-12-26

. ruler he had seized. "You rat.
You little rat! Salute, sir, and get
out. I'll tell them how to deal with
you"
"Salute!" said Rud. "Me-salute!"
and then, grinning viciously, "How?"
It looked as though Bohun might
lose his self-control, and he was
a full inches taller than Rud
and generally much larger. More
over that ruler might serve as a
missile! If he thought of it.
Rud closed the door behind him.
self and stood quivering on the
landing.
Damn the idiot" he said.
Lord Horatio stood very still at
his desk, dilating and contracting
his nostrils almost as though he was
doing breathing exercises. Anger
Illuminated him-in the eyes of Mrs
Crumb.
II was afraid" whispered Mrs.
Crumb, all limp in her chair. II
was afraid-you might. kill him"
He just wants discipline" said
Lord Horatio. I'll break him in
yet I've dealt with tougher
stuff than that Have you Or
dered the car? Hotel? No. I'm
staying with Lady Carbees.
Rud Tastes Defeat.
Rud went out of the purple house
in a preoccupied manner.
20. K.?" asked breed as he came
downstairs.
NO." said Rud curtly 80.
He felt he had made a mess
of the whole situation. He ought
to have consulted the B. M. G.'s
before this second encounter with
Bohun. He did not want to go
back to Steenhold's fiat to make pre-
mature explanations to him or any
of them, and still less did he want
to return to his dismal little apart
ment. He felt he could never make
a tolerable story about this par
alyzing quarrel. He would go for
walk. He would just walk. He
would spend his anger in walking.
1t was a mild, clear afternoon and
he wandered for miles, first west
until the sunset got into his eyes,
and then northward and round by
Hendon and the Northern Heights.
He sat for a long time in tea
shop In Hounslow, brooding; he got
a sausage-and-mashed In little
pub out toward Barnet. Afterward
he found a friendly wayside seat
and sat on it for some time. Then
as his feet were getting very tired
and his small change low, he es-
tablished himself in a belated con-
fectioner's shop at Highgate over a
glass of soda and milk, and when
that establishment closed he went
home, refreshed himself with wash
and repaired at last to Camborne
square.
Saturday night in Steenhold's fiat
was not one of the B. M. G. nights,
and none of the group was there.
Instead there was an influx of un-
congenial spirits, interested in the
worlds of dramatic art and poetry
and literary journalism. Many of
the people were quite unknown to
Rud, and Steenhold was plainly CIV
ing politics a rest. How goes it?"
asked Steenhold.
Rotten" said Rud. "IIl have q
drink and sit bit and then go to
bed"
Disregarded Sulkiness.
He sat about ineffectively and he
disliked the company very much.
The talk splashed about his disre-
garded sulkiness. He disliked them
more and more.
They were all so irrelevant, SO
frightfully irrelevant. The mind Of
youth is an errant mind and will
not always conspire. 1t loathes con-
centration. It fits from novelty to
novelty. It must be fed by events
and challenges and held to its OBJ
jective by conflict. 1t puts world
affairs on a level with any one of
the minor arts. That night Rud
had the completest conviction that
things had slipped out of his hands
altogether. He did not talk and
they betrayed no desire to hear him
talk; he felt that they were con-
vinced they had heard all he had
to say and were talking now about
other things, about their damned
little plays and pictures and novels
and biology and genetics and time
space and any old thing of that sort.
beyond his peculiar range. He was
effaced. He drank several mugs of
beer and smoked more cigarettes
than were good for him, he tried
to intervene in two discussions he
knew nothing about and finally
went home stiff and footsore to bed.
tCopyright 1898. by the North American
Newspaper Alliance, Inc.)
Tomorrow-The Leader Explodes.