Primero de Mayo en Ingles

8/13/2019 Primero de Mayo en Ingles

1/61

May Day:An Introduction

"May Day," Fitzgerald's first great novelette--published during his first year as aprofessional riter--appeared in !uly #$%& Fitzgerald presuably sold it directly to (art(et editors )& *& Menc+en and eorge !ean athan ithout offering it to .he (aturday

/vening 0ost, or any other agazine, because the aterial as too strong or realistic forthe slic+s& "May Day" as the ost successful or+ inspired by Fitzgerald's teporaryinterest in the school of naturalistic or deterinistic fiction& Although it as read by thepeople Fitzgerald anted to reach, .he (art (et paid hi only 1$%% for this asterpiece&

"May Day" dre upon Fitzgerald's feelings of failure during the spring of ## hen heas or+ing for a e 2or+ advertising agency& )e provided this coent hen the storyas collected in .ales of the !azz Age 3#$$4:

".his soehat unpleasant tale, published as a novelette in the "(art (et" in !uly, #$%,relates a series of events hich too+ place in the spring of the previous year& /ach of the

three events ade a great ipression upon e& In life they ere unrelated, e5cept by thegeneral hysteria of that spring hich inaugurated the Age of !azz, but in y story I havetried, unsuccessfully I fear, to eave the into a pattern---a pattern hich ould give theeffect of those onths in e 2or+ as they appeared to at least one eber of hat asthen the younger generation&"

.he te5t of May Day&

.his page updated 6 (epteber ##6&7opyright ##6, the 8oard of .rustees of the 9niversity of (outh 7arolina&9* http:;;&sc&edu;fitzgerald;ayday;inde5&htl


2/61

May Dayby F& (cott Fitzgerald& & &

.here had been a ar fought and on and the great city of the con@uering people as

crossed ith triuphal arches and vivid ith thron floers of hite, red, and rose& Allthrough the long spring days the returning soldiers arched up the chief highay behindthe strup of drus and the oyous, resonant ind of the brasses, hile erchants andcler+s left their bic+erings and figurings and, croding to the indos, turned their hite-bunched faces gravely upon the passing battalions&

ever had there been such splendor in the great city, for the victorious ar had broughtplenty in its train, and the erchants had floc+ed thither fro the (outh and ?est ith theirhouseholds to taste of all the luscious feasts and itness the lavish entertainentsprepared --and to buy for their oen furs against the ne5t inter and bags of golden

esh and varicolored slippers of sil+ and silver and rose satin and cloth of gold&

(o gaily and noisily ere the peace and prosperity ipending hyned by the scribes andpoets of the con@uering people that ore and ore spenders had gathered fro theprovinces to drin+ the ine of e5citeent, and faster and faster did the erchants disposeof their trin+ets and slippers until they sent up a ighty cry for ore trin+ets and oreslippers in order that they ight give in barter hat as deanded of the& (oe even ofthe flung up their hands helplessly, shouting:

"AlasB I have no ore slippersB and alasB I have no ore trin+etsB May )eaven help e, forI +no not hat I shall doB"

8ut no one listened to their great outcry, for the throngs ere far too busy --day by day, thefoot-soldiers trod auntily the highay and all e5ulted because the young en returningere pure and brave, sound of tooth and pin+ of chee+, and the young oen of the landere virgins and coely both of face and of figure&

(o during all this tie there ere any adventures that happened in the great city, and, ofthese, several --or perhaps one --are here set don&

7hapter I

At nine o'cloc+ on the orning of the first of May, ##, a young an spo+e to the roo

cler+ at the 8iltore )otel, as+ing if Mr& 0hilip Dean ere registered there, and if so, couldhe be connected ith Mr& Dean's roos& .he in@uirer as dressed in a ell-cut, shabbysuit& )e as sall, slender, and dar+ly handsoeC his eyes ere fraed above ith


3/61

unusually long eyelashes and belo ith the blue seicircle of ill health, this latter effectheightened by an unnatural glo hich colored his face li+e a lo, incessant fever&

Mr& Dean as staying there& .he young an as directed to a telephone at the side&

After a second his connection as adeC a sleepy voice hello'd fro soehere above&

"Mr& Dean" --this very eagerly --"it's ordon, 0hil& It's ordon (terrett& I' don-stairs& Iheard you ere in e 2or+ and I had a hunch you'd be here&"

.he sleepy voice becae gradually enthusiastic& ?ell, ho as ordy, old boyB ?ell, hecertainly as surprised and tic+ledB ?ould ordy coe right up, for 0ete's sa+eB

A fe inutes later 0hilip Dean, dressed in blue sil+ paaas, opened his door and the toyoung en greeted each other ith a half-ebarrassed e5uberance& .hey ere bothabout tenty-four, 2ale graduates of the year before the arC but there the reseblancestopped abruptly& Dean as blond, ruddy, and rugged under his thin paaas& /verythingabout hi radiated fitness and bodily cofort& )e siled fre@uently, shoing large andproinent teeth&

"I as going to loo+ you up," he cried enthusiastically& "I' ta+ing a couple of ee+s off& Ifyou'll sit don a sec I'll be right ith you& oing to ta+e a shoer&"

As he vanished into the bathroo his visitor's dar+ eyes roved nervously around the roo,resting for a oent on a great /nglish travelling bag in the corner and on a faily of thic+sil+ shirts littered on the chairs aid ipressive nec+ties and soft oollen soc+s&

ordon rose and, pic+ing up one of the shirts, gave it a inute e5aination& It as of veryheavy sil+, yello, ith a pale blue stripe --and there ere nearly a dozen of the& )estared involuntarily at his on shirt-cuffs --they ere ragged and linty at the edges and

soiled to a faint gray& Dropping the sil+ shirt, he held his coat-sleeves don and or+ed thefrayed shirt-cuffs up till they ere out of sight& .hen he ent to the irror and loo+ed athiself ith listless, unhappy interest& )is tie, of forer glory, as faded and thub-creased --it served no longer to hide the agged buttonholes of his collar& )e thought, @uiteithout auseent, that only three years before he had received a scattering vote in thesenior elections at college for being the best-dressed an in his class&

Dean eerged fro the bathroo polishing his body&

"(a an old friend of yours last night," he rear+ed&


4/61

"0assed her in the lobby and couldn't thin+ of her nae to save y nec+& .hat girl youbrought up to e )aven senior year&"

ordon started&

"/dith 8radin .hat ho you ean"

"'At's the one& Dan good loo+ing& (he's still sort of a pretty doll --you +no hat I ean:as if you touched her she'd sear&"

)e surveyed his shining self coplacently in the irror, siled faintly, e5posing a sectionof teeth&

"(he ust be tenty-three anyay," he continued&

".enty-to last onth," said ordon absently&

"?hat Eh, last onth& ?ell, I iagine she's don for the aa 0si dance& Did you+no e're having a 2ale aa 0si dance to-night at Delonico's 2ou better coe up,ordy& )alf of e )aven'll probably be there& I can get you an invitation&"

Draping hiself reluctantly in fresh underear, Dean lit a cigarette and sat don by theopen indo, inspecting his calves and +nees under the orning sunshine hich pouredinto the roo&

"(it don, ordy," he suggested, "and tell e all about hat you've been doing and hatyou're doing no and everything&"

ordon collapsed une5pectedly upon the bedC lay there inert and spiritless& )is outh,hich habitually dropped a little open hen his face as in repose, becae suddenlyhelpless and pathetic&

"?hat's the atter" as+ed Dean @uic+ly&

"Eh, odB"

"?hat's the atter"


5/61

"/very od dan thing in the orld," he said iserably& "I've absolutely gone to pieces,0hil& I' all in&"

")uh"

"I' all in&" )is voice as sha+ing&

Dean scrutinized hi ore closely ith appraising blue eyes&

"2ou certainly loo+ all shot&"

"I a& I've ade a hell of a ess of everything&" )e paused& "I'd better start at the

beginning --or ill it bore you"

"ot at allC go on&" .here as, hoever, a hesitant note in Dean's voice& .his trip /ast hadbeen planned for a holiday --to find ordon (terrett in trouble e5asperated hi a little&

"o on," he repeated, and then added half under his breath, "et it over ith&"

"?ell," began ordon unsteadily, "I got bac+ fro France in February, ent hoe to)arrisburg for a onth, and then cae don to e 2or+ to get a ob& I got one --ith ane5port copany& .hey fired e yesterday&"

"Fired you"

"I' coing to that, 0hil& I ant to tell you fran+ly&

2ou're about the only an I can turn to in a atter li+e this& 2ou on't ind if I ust tell youfran+ly, ill you, 0hil"

Dean stiffened a bit ore& .he pats he as bestoing on his +nees gre perfunctory& )efelt vaguely that he as being unfairly saddled ith responsibilityC he as not even sure heanted to be told& .hough never surprised at finding ordon (terrett in ild difficulty, thereas soething in this present isery that repelled hi and hardened hi, even though ite5cited his curiosity&

"o on&"


6/61

"It's a girl&"

")&" Dean resolved that nothing as going to spoil his trip& If ordon as going to bedepressing, then he'd have to see less of ordon&

")er nae is !eel )udson," ent on the distressed voice fro the bed& "(he used to be'pure,' I guess, up to about a year ago& *ived here in e 2or+ --poor faily& )er peopleare dead no and she lives ith an old aunt& 2ou see it as ust about the tie I et herthat everybody began to coe bac+ fro France in droves --and all I did as to elcoethe nely arrived and go on parties ith 'e& .hat's the ay it started, 0hil, ust fro beingglad to see everybody and having the glad to see e&"

"2ou ought to've had ore sense&"

"I +no," ordon paused, and then continued listlessly& "I' on y on no, you +no,and 0hil, I can't stand being poor& .hen cae this darn girl& (he sort of fell in love ith efor a hile and, though I never intended to get so involved, I'd alays see to run into hersoehere& 2ou can iagine the sort of or+ I as doing for those e5porting people --ofcourse, I alays intended to draC do illustrating for agazinesC there's a pile of oney init&"

"?hy didn't you 2ou've got to buc+le don if you ant to a+e good," suggested Deanith cold foralis&

"I tried, a little, but y stuff's crude& I've got talent, 0hilC I can dra --but I ust don't +noho& I ought to go to art school and I can't afford it& ?ell, things cae to a crisis about aee+ ago& !ust as I as don to about y last dollar this girl began bothering e& (heants soe oneyC clais she can a+e trouble for e if she doesn't get it&

"7an she"

"I' afraid she can& .hat's one reason I lost y ob --she +ept calling up the office all thetie, and that as sort of the last stra don there& (he's got a letter all ritten to send toy faily& Eh, she's got e, all right& I've got to have soe oney for her&"

.here as an a+ard pause& ordon lay very still, his hands clenched by his side&

"I' all in," he continued, his voice trebling& "I' half crazy, 0hil& If I hadn't +non youere coing /ast, I thin+ I'd have +illed yself& I ant you to lend e three hundred

dollars&"


7/61

Dean's hands, hich had been patting his bare an+les, ere suddenly @uiet --and thecurious uncertainty playing beteen the to becae taut and strained&

After a second ordon continued:

"I've bled the faily until I' ashaed to as+ for another nic+el&"

(till Dean ade no anser&

"!eel says she's got to have to hundred dollars&"

".ell her here she can go&"

"2es, that sounds easy, but she's got a couple of drun+en letters I rote her& 9nfortunatelyshe's not at all the flabby sort of person you'd e5pect&"

Dean ade an e5pression of distaste&

"I can't stand that sort of oan& 2ou ought to have +ept aay&"

"I +no," aditted ordon earily&

"2ou've got to loo+ at things as they are& If you haven't got oney you've got to or+ andstay aay fro oen&" ".hat's easy for you to say," began ordon, his eyes narroing&"2ou've got all the oney in the orld&"

"I ost certainly have not& My faily +eep darn close tab on hat I spend& !ust because I

have a little leeay I have to be e5tra careful not to abuse it&"

)e raised the blind and let in a further flood of sunshine&

"I' no prig, *ord +nos," he ent on deliberately& "I li+e pleasure --and I li+e a lot of it on avacation li+e this, but you're --you're in aful shape& I never heard you tal+ ust this aybefore& 2ou see to be sort of ban+rupt --orally as ell as financially&"

"Don't they usually go together"


8/61

Dean shoo+ his head ipatiently&

".here's a regular aura about you that I don't understand& It's a sort of evil&"

"It's an air of orry and poverty and sleepless nights," said ordon, rather defiantly&

"I don't +no&"

"Eh, I adit I' depressing& I depress yself& 8ut, y od, 0hil, a ee+'s rest and a nesuit and soe ready oney and I'd be li+e --li+e I as& 0hil, I can dra li+e a strea+, andyou +no it& 8ut half the tie I haven't had the oney to buy decent draing aterials--and I can't dra hen I' tired and discouraged and all in& ?ith a little ready oney I canta+e a fe ee+s off and get started&"

")o do I +no you ouldn't use it on soe other oan"

"?hy rub it in" said ordon @uietly&

"I' not rubbing it in& I hate to see you this ay&"

"?ill you lend e the oney, 0hil"

"I can't decide right off& .hat's a lot of oney and it'll be darn inconvenient for e&"

"It'll be hell for e if you can't --I +no I' hining, and it's all y on fault but --thatdoesn't change it&"

"?hen could you pay it bac+"

.his as encouraging& ordon considered& It as probably isest to be fran+&

"Ef course, I could proise to send it bac+ ne5t onth, but --I'd better say three onths&!ust as soon as I start to sell draings&"

")o do I +no you'll sell any draings"

A ne hardness in Dean's voice sent a faint chill of doubt over ordon& ?as it possible


9/61

that he ouldn't get the oney

"I supposed you had a little confidence in e&"

"I did have --but hen I see you li+e this I begin to onder&"

"Do you suppose if I asn't at the end of y rope I'd coe to you li+e this Do you thin+I' enoying it" )e bro+e off and bit his lip, feeling that he had better subdue the risinganger in his voice& After all, he as the suppliant&

"2ou see to anage it pretty easily," said Dean angrily& "2ou put e in the positionhere, if I don't lend it to you, I' a suc+er --oh, yes, you do& And let e tell you it's noeasy thing for e to get hold of three hundred dollars& My incoe isn't so big but that a

slice li+e that on't play the deuce ith it&"

)e left his chair and began to dress, choosing his clothes carefully& ordon stretched outhis ars and clenched the edges of the bed, fighting bac+ a desire to cry out& )is headas splitting and hirring, his outh as dry and bitter and he could feel the fever in hisblood resolving itself into innuerable regular counts li+e a slo dripping fro a roof&

Dean tied his tie precisely, brushed his eyebros, and reoved a piece of tobacco frohis teeth ith solenity& e5t he filled his cigarette case, tossed the epty bo5 thoughtfullyinto the aste bas+et, and settled the case in his vest poc+et&

")ad brea+fast" he deanded&

"oC I don't eat it any ore&"

"?ell, e'll go out and have soe& ?e'll decide about that oney later& I' sic+ of the

subect& I cae /ast to have a good tie&

"*et's go over to the 2ale 7lub," he continued oodily, and then added ith an ipliedreproof:

"2ou've given up your ob& 2ou've got nothing else to do&"

"I'd have a lot to do if I had a little oney," said ordon pointedly&

"Eh, for )eaven's sa+e drop the subect for a hileB o point in glooing on y hole trip&


10/61

)ere, here's soe oney&"

)e too+ a five-dollar bill fro his allet and tossed it over to ordon, ho folded it carefullyand put it in his poc+et& .here as an added spot of color in his chee+s, an added glothat as not fever& For an instant before they turned to go out their eyes et and in that

instant each found soething that ade hi loer his on glance @uic+ly& For in thatinstant they @uite suddenly and definitely hated each other&

7hapter II

Fifth Avenue and Forty-fourth (treet sared ith the noon crod& .he ealthy, happy

sun glittered in transient gold through the thic+ indos of the sart shops, lighting uponesh bags and purses and strings of pearls in gray velvet casesC upon gaudy feather fansof any colorsC upon the laces and sil+s of e5pensive dressesC upon the bad paintings andthe fine period furniture in the elaborate sho roos of interior decorators&

?or+ing-girls, in pairs and groups and sars, loitered by these indos, choosing theirfuture boudoirs fro soe resplendent display hich included even a an's sil+ paaaslaid doestically across the bed& .hey stood in front of the eelry stores and pic+ed outtheir engageent rings, and their edding rings and their platinu rist atches, and thendrifted on to inspect the feather fans and opera cloa+sC eanhile digesting thesandiches and sundaes they had eaten for lunch&

All through the crod ere en in unifor, sailors fro the great fleet anchored in the)udson, soldiers ith divisional insignia fro Massachusetts to 7alifornia, antingfearfully to be noticed, and finding the great city thoroughly fed up ith soldiers unless theyere nicely assed into pretty forations and uncofortable under the eight of a pac+and rifle&

.hrough this edley Dean and ordon anderedC the forer interested, ade alert by thedisplay of huanity at its frothiest and gaudiestC the latter reinded of ho often he hadbeen one of the crod, tired, casually fed, overor+ed, and dissipated& .o Dean thestruggle as significant, young, cheerfulC to ordon it as disal, eaningless, endless&

In the 2ale 7lub they et a group of their forer classates ho greeted the visiting Deanvociferously& (itting in a seicircle of lounges and great chairs, they had a highball allaround&

ordon found the conversation tiresoe and interinable& .hey lunched together enasse, ared ith li@uor as the afternoon began& .hey ere all going to the aa 0sidance that night --it proised to be the best party since the ar&


11/61

"/dith 8radin's coing," said soe one to ordon& "Didn't she used to be an old flae ofyours Aren't you both fro )arrisburg"

"2es&" )e tried to change the subect& "I see her brother occasionally& )e's sort of asocialistic nut& uns a paper or soething here in e 2or+&"

"ot li+e his gay sister, eh" continued his eager inforant& "?ell, she's coing to nightith a unior naed 0eter )iel&"

ordon as to eet !eel )udson at eight o'cloc+ --he had proised to have soeoney for her& (everal ties he glanced nervously at his rist atch& At four, to his relief,Dean rose and announced that he as going over to ivers 8rothers to buy soe collars

and ties& 8ut as they left the 7lub another of the party oined the, to ordon's greatdisay& Dean as in a ovial ood no, happy, e5pectant of the evening's party, faintlyhilarious& Ever in ivers' he chose a dozen nec+ties, selecting each one after longconsultations ith the other an& Did he thin+ narro ties ere coing bac+ And asn't ita shae that ivers couldn't get any ore ?elsh Margotson collars .here never as acollar li+e the "7ovington&"

ordon as in soething of a panic& )e anted the oney iediately& And he as noinspired also ith a vague idea of attending the aa 0si dance& )e anted to see/dith --/dith ho he hadn't et since one roantic night at the )arrisburg 7ountry 7lubust before he ent to France& .he affair had died, droned in the turoil of the ar and@uite forgotten in the arabes@ue of these three onths, but a picture of her, poignant,debonnaire, iersed in her on inconse@uential chatter, recurred to hi une5pectedlyand brought a hundred eories ith it& It as /dith's face that he had cherished throughcollege ith a sort of detached yet affectionate adiration& )e had loved to dra her--around his roo had been a dozen s+etches of her --playing golf, siing --he coulddra her pert, arresting profile ith his eyes shut&

.hey left ivers' at five-thirty and paused for a oent on the sideal+&

"?ell," said Dean genially, " I' all set no& .hin+ I'll go bac+ to the hotel and get a shave,haircut, and assage&"

"ood enough," said the other an, "I thin+ I'll oin you&"

ordon ondered if he as to be beaten after all& ?ith difficulty he restrained hiself froturning to the an and snarling out, "o on aay, dan youB" In despair he suspected that

perhaps Dean had spo+en to hi, as +eeping hi along in order to avoid a dispute aboutthe oney&


12/61

.hey ent into the 8iltore --a 8iltore alive ith girls --ostly fro the ?est and (outh,the stellar debutantes of any cities gathered for the dance of a faous fraternity of afaous university& 8ut to ordon they ere faces in a drea& )e gathered together hisforces for a last appeal, as about to coe out ith he +ne not hat, hen Deansuddenly e5cused hiself to the other an and ta+ing ordon's ar led hi aside&

"ordy," he said @uic+ly, "I've thought the hole thing over carefully and I've decided that Ican't lend you that oney& I'd li+e to oblige you, but I don't feel I ought to --it'd put a cripin e for a onth&"

ordon, atching hi dully, ondered hy he had never before noticed ho uch thoseupper teeth proected&

" --I' ighty sorry, ordon," continued Dean, "but that's the ay it is&"

)e too+ out his allet and deliberately counted out seventy-five dollars in bills&

")ere," he said, holding the out, "here's seventy-fiveC that a+es eighty all together&.hat's all the actual cash I have ith e, besides hat I'll actually spend on the trip&"

ordon raised his clenched hand autoatically, opened it as though it ere a tongs heas holding, and clenched it again on the oney&

"I'll see you at the dance," continued Dean& "I've got to get along to the barber shop&"

"(o-long," said ordon in a strained and hus+y voice&

"(o-long&"

Dean began to sile, but seeed to change his ind& )e nodded bris+ly anddisappeared&

8ut ordon stood there, his handsoe face ary ith distress, the roll of bills clenchedtightly in his hand& .hen, blinded by sudden tears, he stubled clusily don the 8iltoresteps&


13/61

7hapter III

About nine o'cloc+ of the sae night to huan beings cae out of a cheap restaurant in(i5th Avenue& .hey ere ugly, ill-nourished, devoid of all e5cept the very loest for ofintelligence, and ithout even that anial e5uberance that in itself brings color into lifeC

they ere lately verin-ridden, cold, and hungry in a dirty ton of a strange landC theyere poor, friendlessC tossed as driftood fro their births, they ould be tossed asdriftood to their deaths& .hey ere dressed in the unifor of the 9nited (tates Ary, andon the shoulder of each as the insignia of a drafted division fro e !ersey, landedthree days before&

.he taller of the to as naed 7arrol ey, a nae hinting that in his veins, hoeverthinly diluted by generations of degeneration, ran blood of soe potentiality& 8ut one couldstare endlessly at the long, chinless face, the dull, atery eyes, and high chee+-bones,ithout finding a suggestion of either ancestral orth or native resourcefulness&

)is copanion as aare and bandy-legged, ith rat-eyes and a uch-bro+en hoo+ednose& )is defiant air as obviously a pretense, a eapon of protection borroed fro thatorld of snarl and snap, of physical bluff and physical enace, in hich he had alayslived& )is nae as us ose&

*eaving the cafe they sauntered don (i5th Avenue, ielding toothpic+s ith great gustoand coplete detachent&

"?here to" as+ed ose, in a tone hich iplied that he ould not be surprised if eysuggested the (outh (ea Islands&

"?hat you say e see if e can getta holda soe li@uor" 0rohibition as not yet& .heginger in the suggestion as caused by the la forbidding the selling of li@uor to soldiers&

ose agreed enthusiastically&

"I got an idea," continued ey, after a oent's thought, "I got a brother soehere&"

"In e 2or+"

"2eah& )e's an old fella&" )e eant that he as an elder brother& ")e's a aiter in a hashoint&"

"Maybe he can get us soe&"


14/61

"I'll say he canB"

"8'lieve e, I' goin' to get this darn unifor off e to-orra& ever get e in it again,neither& I' goin' to get e soe regular clothes&"

"(ay, aybe I' not&"

As their cobined finances ere soething less than five dollars, this intention can beta+en largely as a pleasant gae of ords, harless and consoling& It seeed to pleaseboth of the, hoever, for they reinforced it ith chuc+ling and ention of personageshigh in biblical circles, adding such further ephasis as "Eh, boyB" "2ou +noB" and "I'll saysoB" repeated any ties over&

.he entire ental pabulu of these to en consisted of an offended nasal coente5tended through the years upon the institution --ary, business, or poor-house --hich+ept the alive, and toard their iediate superior in that institution& 9ntil that veryorning the institution had been the "governent" and the iediate superior had beenthe "7ap'n" --fro these to they had glided out and ere no in the vaguelyuncofortable state before they should adopt their ne5t bondage& .hey ere uncertain,resentful, and soehat ill at ease& .his they hid by pretending an elaborate relief at beingout of the ary, and by assuring each other that ilitary discipline should never again ruletheir stubborn, liberty-loving ills& 2et, as a atter of fact, they ould have felt ore athoe in a prison than in this ne-found and un@uestionable freedo&

(uddenly ey increased his gait& ose, loo+ing up and folloing his glance, discovered acrod that as collecting fifty yards don the street& ey chuc+led and began to run in thedirection of the crodC ose thereupon also chuc+led and his short bandy legs tin+ledbeside the long, a+ard strides of his copanion&

eaching the outs+irts of the crod they iediately becae an indistinguishable part ofit& It as coposed of ragged civilians soehat the orse for li@uor, and of soldiers

representing any divisions and any stages of sobriety, all clustered around agesticulating little !e ith long blac+ his+ers, ho as aving his ars and deliveringan e5cited but succinct harangue& ey and ose, having edged theselves into theappro5iate par@uet, scrutinized hi ith acute suspicion, as his ords penetrated theircoon consciousness&

" --?hat have you got out a the ar" he as crying fiercely& "*oo+ arouna, loo+ arounaBAre you rich )ave you got a lot of oney offered you --noC you're luc+y if you're aliveand got both your legsC you're luc+y if you cae bac+ an' find your ife ain't gone off ithsoe other fella that had the oney to buy hiself out of the arB .hat's hen you're

luc+yB ?ho got anything out of it e5cept !& 0& Morgan an' !ohn D& oc+erfeller"


15/61

At this point the little !e's oration as interrupted by the hostile ipact of a fist upon thepoint of his bearded chin and he toppled bac+ard to a spral on the paveent&

"od dan 8olshevi+iB" cried the big soldier-blac+sith ho had delivered the blo& .hereas a ruble of approval, the crod closed in nearer&

.he !e staggered to his feet, and iediately ent don again before a half-dozenreaching-in fists& .his tie he stayed don, breathing heavily, blood oozing fro his liphere it as cut ithin and ithout&

.here as a riot of voices, and in a inute ose and ey found theselves floing iththe ubled crod don (i5th Avenue under the leadership of a thin civilian in a slouch hatand the brany soldier ho had suarily ended the oration& .he crod had arvellouslysollen to foridable proportions and a strea of ore non-coittal citizens folloed it

along the sideal+s lending their oral support by interittent huzzas&

"?here e goin'" yelled ey to the an nearest hi&

)is neighbor pointed up to the leader in the slouch hat&

".hat guy +nos here there's a lot of 'eB ?e're goin' to sho 'eB"

"?e're goin' to sho 'eB" hispered ey delightedly to ose, ho repeated the phraserapturously to a an on the other side&

Don (i5th Avenue sept the procession, oined here and there by soldiers and arines,and no and then by civilians, ho cae up ith the inevitable cry that they ere ust outof the ary theselves, as if presenting it as a card of adission to a nely fored(porting and Auseent 7lub&

.hen the procession served don a cross street and headed for Fifth Avenue and theord filtered here and there that they ere bound for a ed eeting at .olliver )all&

"?here is it"

.he @uestion ent up the line and a oent later the anser floated bac+& .olliver )allas don on .enth (treet& .here as a bunch of other soers ho as goin' to brea+ it upand as don there noB

8ut .enth (treet had a faraay sound and at the ord a general groan ent up and a


16/61

score of the procession dropped out& Aong these ere ose and ey, ho sloed donto a saunter and let the ore enthusiastic seep on by&

"I'd rather get soe li@uor," said ey as they halted and ade their ay to the sideal+aid cries of "(hell holeB" and "GuittersB"

"Does your brother or+ around here" as+ed ose, assuing the air of one passing frothe superficial to the eternal&

")e oughta," replied ey& "I ain't seen hi for a coupla years& I been out to 0ennsylvaniasince& Maybe he don't or+ at night anyho& It's right along here& )e can get us soeo'right if he ain't gone&"

.hey found the place after a fe inutes' patrol of the street --a shoddy tableclothrestaurant beteen Fifth Avenue and 8roaday& )ere ey ent inside to in@uire for hisbrother eorge, hile ose aited on the sideal+&

")e ain't here no ore," said ey eerging& ")e's a aiter up to Delonico's&"

ose nodded isely, as if he'd e5pected as uch& Ene should not be surprised at acapable an changing obs occasionally& )e +ne a aiter once --there ensued a longconversation as they al+ed as to hether aiters ade ore in actual ages than in tips--it as decided that it depended on the social tone of the oint herein the aiter labored&After having given each other vivid pictures of illionaires dining at Delonico's andthroing aay fifty-dollar bills after their first @uart of chapagne, both en thoughtprivately of becoing aiters& In fact, ey's narro bro as secreting a resolution to as+his brother to get hi a ob&

"A aiter can drin+ up all the chapagne those fellas leave in bottles," suggested oseith soe relish, and then added as an afterthought, "Eh, boyB"

8y the tie they reached Delonico's it as half past ten, and they ere surprised to seea strea of ta5is driving up to the door one after the other and eitting arvelous, hatlessyoung ladies, each one attended by a stiff young gentlean in evening clothes&

"It's a party," said ose ith soe ae& "Maybe e better not go in& )e'll be busy&"

"o, he on't& )e'll be o'right&"

After soe hesitation they entered hat appeared to the to be the least elaborate doorand, indecision falling upon the iediately, stationed theselves nervously in an


17/61

inconspicuous corner of the sall dining-roo in hich they found theselves& .hey too+off their caps and held the in their hands& A cloud of gloo fell upon the and bothstarted hen a door at one end of the roo crashed open, eitting a coet-li+e aiterho strea+ed across the floor and vanished through another door on the other side&

.here had been three of these lightning passages before the see+ers ustered theacuen to hail a aiter& )e turned, loo+ed at the suspiciously, and then approached ithsoft, catli+e steps, as if prepared at any oent to turn and flee&

"(ay," began ey, "say, do you +no y brother )e's a aiter here&"

")is nae is ey," annotated ose&

2es, the aiter +ne ey& )e as up-stairs, he thought& .here as a big dance going onin the ain ballroo& )e'd tell hi&

.en inutes later eorge ey appeared and greeted his brother ith the utost suspicionChis first and ost natural thought being that he as going to be as+ed for oney&

eorge as tall and ea+ chinned, but there his reseblance to his brother ceased& .heaiter's eyes ere not dull, they ere alert and tin+ling, and his anner as suave, in-door, and faintly superior& .hey e5changed foralities& eorge as arried and had threechildren& )e seeed fairly interested, but not ipressed by the nes that 7arrol had beenabroad in the ary& .his disappointed 7arrol&

"eorge," said the younger brother, these aenities having been disposed of, "e ant toget soe booze, and they on't sell us none& 7an you get us soe"

eorge considered&

"(ure& Maybe I can& It ay be half an hour, though&"

"All right," agreed 7arrol, "e'll ait&"

At this ose started to sit don in a convenient chair, but as hailed to his feet by theindignant eorge&

")eyB ?atch out, youB 7an't sit don hereB .his roo's all set for a telve o'cloc+ban@uet&"


18/61

"I ain't goin' to hurt it," said ose resentfully& "I been through the delouser&"

"ever ind," said eorge sternly, "if the head aiter seen e here tal+in' he'd rop allover e&"

"Eh&"

.he ention of the head aiter as full e5planation to the other toC they fingered theiroverseas caps nervously and aited for a suggestion&

"I tell you," said eorge, after a pause, "I got a place you can aitC you ust coe here ithe&"

.hey folloed hi out the far door, through a deserted pantry and up a pair of dar+inding stairs, eerging finally into a sall roo chiefly furnished by piles of pails andstac+s of scrubbing brushes, and illuinated by a single di electric light& .here he leftthe, after soliciting to dollars and agreeing to return in half an hour ith a @uart ofhis+ey&

"eorge is a+in' oney, I bet," said ey glooily as he seated hiself on an invertedpail& "I bet he's a+ing fifty dollars a ee+&"

ose nodded his head and spat&

"I bet he is, too&"

"?hat'd he say the dance as of"

"A lot of college fellas& 2ale 7ollege&"

.hey both nodded solenly at each other&

"?onder here that crod a soers is no"

"I don't +no& I +no that's too dan long to al+ for e&"

"Me too& 2ou don't catch e al+in' that far&"


19/61

.en inutes later restlessness seized the&

"I' goin' to see hat's out here," said ose, stepping cautiously toard the other door&

It as a singing door of green baize and he pushed it open a cautious inch&

"(ee anything"

For anser ose dre in his breath sharply&

"DoggoneB )ere's soe li@uor I'll sayB"

"*i@uor"

ey oined ose at the door, and loo+ed eagerly&

"I'll tell the orld that's li@uor," he said, after a oent of concentrated gazing&

It as a roo about tice as large as the one they ere in --and in it as prepared aradiant feast of spirits& .here ere long alls of alternating bottles set along to hitecovered tablesC his+ey, gin, brandy, French and Italian verouths, and orange uice, notto ention an array of syphons and to great epty punch bols& .he roo as as yetuninhabited&

"It's for this dance they're ust starting," hispered eyC "hear the violins playin' (ay, boy, Iouldn't ind havin' a dance&"

.hey closed the door softly and e5changed a glance of utual coprehension& .here asno need of feeling each other out&

"I'd li+e to get y hands on a coupla those bottles," said ose ephatically&

"Me too&"

"Do you suppose e'd get seen"


20/61

ey considered&

"Maybe e better ait till they start drin+in' 'e& .hey got 'e all laid out no, and they+no ho any of the there are&"

.hey debated this point for several inutes& ose as all for getting his hands on a bottleno and tuc+ing it under his coat before any one cae into the roo& ey, hoever,advocated caution& )e as afraid he ight get his brother in trouble& If they aited tillsoe of the bottles ere opened it'd be all right to ta+e one, and everybody'd thin+ it asone of the college fellas&

?hile they ere still engaged in arguent eorge ey hurried through the roo and,barely grunting at the, disappeared by ay of the green baize door& A inute later they

heard several cor+s pop, and then the sound of crac+ing ice and splashing li@uid& eorgeas i5ing the punch&

.he soldiers e5changed delighted grins&

"Eh, boyB" hispered ose&

eorge reappeared&

"!ust +eep lo, boys," he said @uic+ly& "I'll have your stuff for you in five inutes&"

)e disappeared through the door by hich he had coe&

As soon as his footsteps receded don the stairs, ose, after a cautious loo+, darted intothe roo of delights and reappeared ith a bottle in his hand&

")ere's hat I say," he said, as they sat radiantly digesting their first drin+& "?e'll ait till hecoes up, and e'll as+ hi if e can't ust stay here and drin+ hat he brings us --see&?e'll tell hi e haven't got any place to drin+ it --see& .hen e can snea+ in therehenever there ain't nobody in that there roo and tuc+ a bottle under our coats& ?e'llhave enough to last us a coupla days --see"

"(ure," agreed ose enthusiastically& "Eh, boyB And if e ant to e can sell it to soersany tie e ant to&"

.hey ere silent for a oent thin+ing rosily of this idea& .hen ey reached up and


21/61

unhoo+ed the collar of his E& D& coat&

"It's hot in here, ain't it"

ose agreed earnestly&

")ot as hell&"

7hapter IH

(he as still @uite angry hen she cae out of the dressing-roo and crossed theintervening parlor of politeness that opened onto the hall --angry not so uch at the actualhappening hich as, after all, the erest coonplace of her social e5istence, butbecause it had occurred on this particular night& (he had no @uarrel ith herself& (he hadacted ith that correct i5ture of dignity and reticent pity hich she alays eployed& (hehad succinctly and deftly snubbed hi&

It had happened hen their ta5i as leaving the 8iltore --hadn't gone half a bloc+& )ehad lifted his right ar a+ardly --she as on his right side --and attepted to settle itsnugly around the crison fur-tried opera cloa+ she ore& .his in itself had been aista+e& It as inevitably ore graceful for a young an attepting to ebrace a younglady of hose ac@uiescence he as not certain, to first put his far ar around her& Itavoided that a+ard oveent of raising the near ar&

)is second fau5 pas as unconscious& (he had spent the afternoon at the hairdresser'sCthe idea of any calaity overta+ing her hair as e5treely repugnant --yet as 0eter adehis unfortunate attept the point of his elbo had ust faintly brushed it& .hat as hissecond fau5 pas& .o ere @uite enough&

)e had begun to urur& At the first urur she had decided that he as nothing but acollege boy --/dith as tenty-to, and anyho, this dance, first of its +ind since the ar,as reinding her, ith the accelerating rhyth of its associations, of soething else --ofanother dance and another an, a an for ho her feelings had been little ore than asad-eyed, adolescent ooniness& /dith 8radin as falling in love ith her recollection ofordon (terrett&

(o she cae out of the dressing-roo at Delonico's and stood for a second in the

dooray loo+ing over the shoulders of a blac+ dress in front of her at the groups of 2aleen ho flitted li+e dignified blac+ oths around the head of the stairs& Fro the roo shehad left drifted out the heavy fragrance left by the passage to and fro of any scented


22/61

young beauties --rich perfues and the fragile eory-laden dust of fragrant poders&.his odor drifting out ac@uired the tang of cigarette so+e in the hall, and then settledsensuously don the stairs and pereated the ballroo here the aa 0si dance asto be held& It as an odor she +ne ell, e5citing, stiulating, restlessly seet --the odorof a fashionable dance&

(he thought of her on appearance& )er bare ars and shoulders ere podered to acreay hite& (he +ne they loo+ed very soft and ould glea li+e il+ against the blac+bac+s that ere to silhouette the tonight& .he hairdressing had been a successC herreddish ass of hair as piled and crushed and creased to an arrogant arvel of obilecurves& )er lips ere finely ade of deep carineC the irises of her eyes ere delicate,brea+able blue, li+e china eyes& (he as a coplete, infinitely delicate, @uite perfect thingof beauty, floing in an even line fro a cople5 coiffure to to sall sli feet&

(he thought of hat she ould say to-night at this revel, faintly prestiged already by the

sounds of high and lo laughter and slippered footsteps, and oveents of couples upand don the stairs& (he ould tal+ the language she had tal+ed for any years --her line--ade up of the current e5pressions, bits of ournalese and college slang strung togetherinto an intrinsic hole, careless, faintly provocative, delicately sentiental& (he siledfaintly as she heard a girl sitting on the stairs near her say: "2ou don't +no the half of it,dearieB"

And as she siled her anger elted for a oent, and closing her eyes she dre in adeep breath of pleasure& (he dropped her ars to her side until they ere faintly touchingthe slee+ sheath that covered and suggested her figure& (he had never felt her onsoftness so uch nor so enoyed the hiteness of her on ars&

"I sell seet," she said to herself siply, and then cae another thought --"I' ade forlove&"

(he li+ed the sound of this and thought it againC then in inevitable succession cae herne-born riot of dreas about ordon& .he tist of her iagination hich, to onthsbefore, had disclosed to her her unguessed desire to see hi again, seeed no to have

been leading up to this dance, this hour&

For all her slee+ beauty, /dith as a grave, slo-thin+ing girl& .here as a strea+ in her ofthat sae desire to ponder, of that adolescent idealis that had turned her brothersocialist and pacifist& )enry 8radin had left 7ornell, here he had been an instructor ineconoics, and had coe to e 2or+ to pour the latest cures for incurable evils into thecoluns of a radical ee+ly nespaper&

/dith, less fatuously, ould have been content to cure ordon (terrett& .here as a

@uality of ea+ness in ordon that she anted to ta+e care ofC there as a helplessnessin hi that she anted to protect& And she anted soeone she had +non a long hile,soeone ho had loved her a long hile& (he as a little tiredC she anted to get arried&


23/61

Eut of a pile of letters, half a dozen pictures and as any eories, and this eariness,she had decided that ne5t tie she sa ordon their relations ere going to be changed&(he ould say soething that ould change the& .here as this evening& .his as herevening& All evenings ere her evenings&

.hen her thoughts ere interrupted by a solen undergraduate ith a hurt loo+ and an airof strained forality ho presented hiself before her and boed unusually lo& It as thean she had coe ith, 0eter )iel& )e as tall and huorous, ith horned-riedglasses and an air of attractive hisicality& (he suddenly rather disli+ed hi --probablybecause he had not succeeded in +issing her&

"?ell," she began, "are you still furious at e"

"ot at all&"

(he stepped forard and too+ his ar&

"I' sorry," she said softly& "I don't +no hy I snapped out that ay& I' in a bu huorto-night for soe strange reason& I' sorry&"

"('all right," he ubled, "don't ention it&"

)e felt disagreeably ebarrassed& ?as she rubbing in the fact of his late failure

"It as a ista+e," she continued, on the sae consciously gentle +ey& "?e'll both forgetit&" For this he hated her&

A fe inutes later they drifted out on the floor hile the dozen saying, sighing ebersof the specially hired azz orchestra infored the croded ballroo that "if a sa5ophone

and e are left alone hy then to is co-pan-eeB"

A an ith a ustache cut in& ")ello," he began reprovingly& "2ou don't reeber e&"

"I can't ust thin+ of your nae," she said lightly --"and I +no you so ell&"

"I et you up at --" )is voice trailed disconsolately off as a an ith very fair hair cut in&/dith urured a conventional ".han+s, loads --cut in later," to the inconnu&

.he very fair an insisted on sha+ing hands enthusiastically& (he placed hi as one of the


24/61

nuerous !is of her ac@uaintance --last nae a ystery& (he reebered even that hehad a peculiar rhyth in dancing and found as they started that she as right&

"oing to be here long" he breathed confidentially& (he leaned bac+ and loo+ed up athi&

"7ouple of ee+s&"

"?here are you"

"8iltore& 7all e up soe day&"

"I ean it," he assured her& "I ill& ?e'll go to tea&"

"(o do I --Do&"

A dar+ an cut in ith intense forality&

"2ou don't reeber e, do you" he said gravely& "I should say I do& 2our nae's)arlan&"

"o-ope& 8arlo&"

"?ell, I +ne there ere to syllables anyay& 2ou're the boy that played the u+ulele soell up at )oard Marshall's house party&

"I played --but not -- --"

A an ith proinent teeth cut in& /dith inhaled a slight cloud of his+ey& (he li+ed en tohave had soething to drin+C they ere so uch ore cheerful, and appreciative andcoplientary --uch easier to tal+ to&

"My nae's Dean, 0hilip Dean," he said cheerfully& "2ou don't reeber e, I +no, butyou used to coe up to e )aven ith a fello I rooed ith senior year, ordon(terrett&"

/dith loo+ed up @uic+ly&


25/61

"2es, I ent up ith hi tice --to the 0up and (lipper and the !unior pro&"

"2ou've seen hi, of course," said Dean carelessly& ")e's here to-night& I sa hi ust ainute ago&"

/dith started& 2et she had felt @uite sure he ould be here&

"?hy, no, I haven't -- --"

A fat an ith red hair cut in&

")ello, /dith," he began&

"?hy --hello there -- --"

(he slipped, stubled lightly&

"I' sorry, dear," she urured echanically&

(he had seen ordon --ordon very hite and listless, leaning against the side of adooray, so+ing and loo+ing into the ballroo& /dith could see that his face as thin andan --that the hand he raised to his lips ith a cigarette as trebling& .hey ere dancing@uite close to hi no&

" --.hey invite so darn any e5tra fellas that you --" the short an as saying&

")ello, ordon," called /dith over her partner's shoulder& )er heart as pounding ildly&

)is large dar+ eyes ere fi5ed on her& )e too+ a step in her direction& )er partner turnedher aay --she heard his voice bleating -- -- " --but half the stags get lit and leave beforelong, so -- --"

.hen a lo tone at her side&

"May I, please"


26/61

(he as dancing suddenly ith ordonC one of his ars as around herC she felt it tightenspasodicallyC felt his hand on her bac+ ith the fingers spread& )er hand holding the littlelace hand+erchief as crushed in his&

"?hy ordon," she began breathlessly&

")ello, /dith&"

(he slipped again --as tossed forard by her recovery until her face touched the blac+cloth of his dinner coat& (he loved hi --she +ne she loved hi --then for a inute thereas silence hile a strange feeling of uneasiness crept over her& (oething as rong&

Ef a sudden her heart renched, and turned over as she realized hat it as& )e as

pitiful and retched, a little drun+, and iserably tired&

"Eh -- --" she cried involuntarily&

)is eyes loo+ed don at her& (he sa suddenly that they ere blood-strea+ed and rollinguncontrollably&

"ordon," she urured, "e'll sit donC I ant to sit don&"

.hey ere nearly in id-floor, but she had seen to en start toard her fro oppositesides of the roo, so she halted, seized ordon's lip hand and led hi buping throughthe crod, her outh tight shut, her face a little pale under her rouge, her eyes treblingith tears&

(he found a place high up on the soft-carpeted stairs, and he sat don heavily beside her&

"?ell," he began, staring at her unsteadily, "I certainly a glad to see you, /dith&"

(he loo+ed at hi ithout ansering& .he effect of this on her as ieasurable& Foryears she had seen en in various stages of into5ication, fro uncles all the ay don tochauffeurs, and her feelings had varied fro auseent to disgust, but here for the firsttie she as seized ith a ne feeling --an unutterable horror&

"ordon," she said accusingly and alost crying, "you loo+ li+e the devil&"

)e nodded& "I've had trouble, /dith&"


27/61

".rouble"

"All sorts of trouble& Don't you say anything to the faily, but I' all gone to pieces& I' a

ess, /dith&"

)is loer lip as sagging& )e seeed scarcely to see her&

"7an't you --can't you," she hesitated, "can't you tell e about it, ordon 2ou +no I'alays interested in you&"

(he bit her lip --she had intended to say soething stronger, but found at the end that she

couldn't bring it out&

ordon shoo+ his head dully& "I can't tell you& 2ou're a good oan& I can't tell a goodoan the story&"

"ot," she said, defiantly& "I thin+ it's a perfect insult to call any one a good oan in thatay& It's a sla& 2ou've been drin+ing, ordon&"

".han+s&" )e inclined his head gravely& ".han+s for the inforation&"

"?hy do you drin+"

"8ecause I' so dan iserable&"

"Do you thin+ drin+ing's going to a+e it any better"

"?hat you doing --trying to refor e"

"oC I' trying to help you, ordon& 7an't you tell e about it"

"I' in an aful ess& 8est thing you can do is to pretend not to +no e&"

"?hy, ordon"


28/61

"I' sorry I cut in on you --its unfair to you& 2ou're pure oan --and all that sort of thing&)ere, I'll get soe one else to dance ith you&"

)e rose clusily to his feet, but she reached up and pulled hi don beside her on thestairs&

")ere, ordon& 2ou're ridiculous& 2ou're hurting e& 2ou're acting li+e a --li+e a crazy an-- --"

"I adit it& I' a little crazy& (oething's rong ith e, /dith& .here's soething left e&It doesn't atter&"

"It does, tell e&"

"!ust that& I as alays @ueer --little bit different fro other boys& All right in college, butno it's all rong& .hings have been snapping inside e for four onths li+e little hoo+s ona dress, and it's about to coe off hen a fe ore hoo+s go& I' very gradually goingloony&"

)e turned his eyes full on her and began to laugh, and she shran+ aay fro hi&

"?hat is the atter"

"!ust e," he repeated& "I' going loony& .his hole place is li+e a drea to e --thisDelonico's -- --"

As he tal+ed she sa he had changed utterly& )e asn't at all light and gay and careless--a great lethargy and discourageent had coe over hi& evulsion seized her, folloedby a faint, surprising boredo& )is voice seeed to coe out of a great void&

"/dith," he said, "I used to thin+ I as clever, talented, an artist& o I +no I' nothing&7an't dra, /dith& Don't +no hy I' telling you this&"

(he nodded absently&

"I can't dra, I can't do anything& I' poor as a church ouse&" )e laughed, bitterly andrather too loud& "I've becoe a dan beggar, a leech on y friends& I' a failure& I' poor

as hell&"


29/61

)er distaste as groing& (he barely nodded this tie, aiting for her first possible cue torise&

(uddenly ordon's eyes filled ith tears&

"/dith," he said, turning to her ith hat as evidently a strong effort at self-control, "Ican't tell you hat it eans to e to +no there's one person left ho's interested in e&"

)e reached out and patted her hand, and involuntarily she dre it aay&

"It's ighty fine of you," he repeated&

"?ell," she said sloly, loo+ing hi in the eye, "any one's alays glad to see an old friend--but I' sorry to see you li+e this, ordon&"

.here as a pause hile they loo+ed at each other, and the oentary eagerness in hiseyes avered& (he rose and stood loo+ing at hi, her face @uite e5pressionless&

"(hall e dance" she suggested, coolly&

--*ove is fragile --she as thin+ing --but perhaps the pieces are saved, the things thathovered on lips, that ight have been said& .he ne love ords, the tendernesseslearned, are treasured up for the ne5t lover&

7hapter H

0eter )iel, escort to the lovely /dith, as unaccustoed to being snubbedC havingbeen snubbed, he as hurt and ebarrassed, and ashaed of hiself& For a atter ofto onths he had been on special delivery ters ith /dith 8radin, and +noing that theone e5cuse and e5planation of the special delivery letter is its value in sentientalcorrespondence, he had believed hiself @uite sure of his ground& )e searched in vain forany reason hy she should have ta+en this attitude in the atter of a siple +iss&

.herefore hen he as cut in on by the an ith the ustache he ent out into the halland, a+ing up a sentence, said it over to hiself several ties& 7onsiderably deleted,

this as it:


30/61

"?ell, if any girl ever led a an on and then olted hi, she did --and she has no +ic+coing if I go out and get beautifully boiled&"

(o he al+ed through the supper roo into a sall roo adoining it, hich he had locatedearlier in the evening& It as a roo in hich there ere several large bols of punch

flan+ed by any bottles& )e too+ a seat beside the table hich held the bottles&

At the second highball, boredo, disgust, the onotony of tie, the turbidity of events,san+ into a vague bac+ground before hich glittering cobebs fored& .hings becaereconciled to theselves, things lay @uietly on their shelvesC the troubles of the dayarranged theselves in tri foration and at his curt ish of disissal, arched off anddisappeared& And ith the departure of orry cae brilliant, pereating sybolis& /dithbecae a flighty, negligible girl, not to be orried overC rather to be laughed at& (he fittedli+e a figure of his on drea into the surface orld foring about hi& )e hiselfbecae in a easure sybolic, a type of the continent bacchanal, the brilliant dreaer at

play&

.hen the sybolic ood faded and as he sipped his third highball his iagination yieldedto the ar glo and he lapsed into a state siilar to floating on his bac+ in pleasantater& It as at this point that he noticed that a green baize door near hi as open aboutto inches, and that through the aperture a pair of eyes ere atching hi intently&

")," urured 0eter cally&

.he green door closed --and then opened again --a bare half inch this tie&

"0ee+-a-boo," urured 0eter&

.he door reained stationary and then he becae aare of a series of tense interittenthispers&

"Ene guy&"

"?hat's he doin'"

")e's sittin' loo+in'&"

")e better beat it off& ?e gotta get another li'l' bottle&"

0eter listened hile the ords filtered into his consciousness&


31/61

"o this," he thought, "is ost rear+able&"

)e as e5cited& )e as ubilant& )e felt that he had stubled upon a ystery& Affecting an

elaborate carelessness he arose and al+ed around the table --then, turning @uic+ly,pulled open the green door, precipitating 0rivate ose into the roo&

0eter boed&

")o do you do" he said&

0rivate ose set one foot slightly in front of the other, poised for fight, flight, or

coproise&

")o do you do" repeated 0eter politely&

"I' o'right&"

"7an I offer you a drin+"

0rivate ose loo+ed at hi searchingly, suspecting possible sarcas&

"E'right," he said finally&

0eter indicated a chair&

"(it don&"

"I got a friend," said ose, "I got a friend in there&" )e pointed to the green door&

"8y all eans let's have hi in&"

0eter crossed over, opened the door and elcoed in 0rivate ey, very suspicious anduncertain and guilty& 7hairs ere found and the three too+ their seats around the punch

bol& 0eter gave the each a highball and offered the a cigarette fro his case& .heyaccepted both ith soe diffidence&


32/61

"o," continued 0eter easily, "ay I as+ hy you gentleen prefer to lounge aay yourleisure hours in a roo hich is chiefly furnished, as far as I can see, ith scrubbingbrushes& And hen the huan race has progressed to the stage here seventeenthousand chairs are anufactured on every day e5cept (unday --" he paused& ose andey regarded hi vacantly& "?ill you tell e," ent on 0eter, "hy you choose to rest

yourselves on articles intended for the transportation of ater fro one place to another"

At this point ose contributed a grunt to the conversation&

"And lastly," finished 0eter, "ill you tell e hy, hen you are in a building beautifullyhung ith enorous candelabra, you prefer to spend these evening hours under oneaneic electric light"

ose loo+ed at eyC ey loo+ed at ose& .hey laughedC they laughed uproariouslyC theyfound it as ipossible to loo+ at each other ithout laughing& 8ut they ere not laughingith this an --they ere laughing at hi& .o the a an ho tal+ed after this fashion aseither raving drun+ or raving crazy&

"2ou are 2ale en, I presue," said 0eter, finishing his highball and preparing another&

.hey laughed again&

"a-ah&"

"(o I thought perhaps you ight be ebers of that loly section of the university +nonas the (heffield (cientific (chool&"

"a-ah&"

")& ?ell, that's too bad& o doubt you are )arvard en, an5ious to preserve yourincognito in this --this paradise of violet blue, as the nespapers say&"

"a-ah," said ey scornfully, "e as ust aitin' for soebody&"

"Ah," e5claied 0eter, rising and filling their glasses,

"very interestin'& )ad a date ith a scrub lady, eh"


33/61

.hey both denied this indignantly&

"It's all right," 0eter reassured the, "don't apologize& A scrub lady's as good as any lady inthe orld& ipling says 'Any lady and !udy E'rady under the s+in&'"

"(ure," said ey, in+ing broadly at ose&

"My case, for instance," continued 0eter, finishing his glass& "I got a girl up here that'sspoiled& (poildest darn girl I ever sa& efused to +iss eC no reason hatsoever& *ed eon deliberately to thin+ sure I ant to +iss you and then plun+B .hre e overB ?hat's theyounger generation coin' to"

"(ay tha's hard luc+," said ey --"that's aful hard luc+&"

"Eh, boyB" said ose&

")ave another" said 0eter&

"?e got in a sort of fight for a hile," said ey after a pause, "but it as too far aay&"

"A fight --tha's stuffB" said 0eter, seating hiself unsteadily& "Fight 'e allB I as in theary&"

".his as ith a 8olshevi+ fella&"

".ha's stuffB" e5claied 0eter, enthusiastic& ".hat's hat I sayB ill the 8olshevi+B/5terinate 'eB"

"?e're Aericuns," said ose, iplying a sturdy, defiant patriotis&

"(ure," said 0eter& "reatest race in the orldB ?e're all AericunsB )ave another&"

.hey had another&

7hapter HI


34/61

At one o'cloc+ a special orchestra, special even in a day of special orchestras, arrived atDelonico's, and its ebers, seating theselves arrogantly around the piano, too+ upthe burden of providing usic for the aa 0si Fraternity& .hey ere headed by afaous flute-player, distinguished throughout e 2or+ for his feat of standing on his head

and shiying ith his shoulders hile he played the latest azz on his flute& During hisperforance the lights ere e5tinguished e5cept for the spotlight on the flute-player andanother roving bea that thre flic+ering shados and changing +aleidoscopic colors overthe assed dancers&

/dith had danced herself into that tired, dreay state habitual only ith debutantes, astate e@uivalent to the glo of a noble soul after several long highballs& )er ind floatedvaguely on the boso of her usicC her partners changed ith the unreality of phantosunder the colorful shifting dus+, and to her present coa it seeed as if days had passedsince the dance began& (he had tal+ed on any fragentary subects ith any en&

(he had been +issed once and ade love to si5 ties& /arlier in the evening differentunder-graduates had danced ith her, but no, li+e all the ore popular girls there, shehad her on entourage --that is, half a dozen gallants had singled her out or erealternating her chars ith those of soe other chosen beautyC they cut in on her inregular, inevitable succession&

(everal ties she had seen ordon --he had been sitting a long tie on the stairay ithhis pal to his head, his dull eyes fi5ed at an infinite spec+ on-the floor before hi, verydepressed, he loo+ed, and @uite drun+ --but /dith each tie had averted her glancehurriedly& All that seeed long agoC her ind as passive no, her senses ere lulled totrance-li+e sleepC only her feet danced and her voice tal+ed on in hazy sentiental banter&

8ut /dith as not nearly so tired as to be incapable of oral indignation hen 0eter)iel cut in on her, subliely and happily drun+& (he gasped and loo+ed up at hi&

" ?hy, 0eterB"

"I' a li'l' steed, /dith&"

"?hy, 0eter, you're a peach, you areB Don't you thin+ it's a bu ay of doing --hen you'reith e"

.hen she siled unillingly, for he as loo+ing at her ith olish sentientality varied itha silly spasodic sile&

"Darlin' /dith," he began earnestly, "you +no I love you, don't you"


35/61

"2ou tell it ell&"

"I love you --and I erely anted you to +iss e," he added sadly&

)is ebarrassent, his shae, ere both gone& (he as a os' beautiful girl in holeorl'& Mos' beautiful eyes, li+e stars above& )e anted to 'pologize --firs', for presuing tryto +iss herC second, for drin+ing --but he'd been so discouraged 'cause he had thought sheas ad at hi -- -- .he red-fat an cut in, and loo+ing up at /dith siled radiantly&

"Did you bring any one" she as+ed&

o& .he red-fat an as a stag&

"?ell, ould you ind --ould it be an aful bother for you to --to ta+e e hoe to-night"3this e5tree diffidence as a charing affectation on /dith's part --she +ne that the red-fat an ould iediately dissolve into a paro5ys of delight4&

"8other ?hy, good *ord, I'd be darn glad toB 2ou +no I'd be darn glad to&"

".han+s loadsB 2ou're afully seet&"

(he glanced at her rist-atch& It as half-past one& And, as she said "half-past one" toherself, it floated vaguely into her ind that her brother had told her at luncheon that heor+ed in the office of his nespaper until after one-thirty every evening&

/dith turned suddenly to her current partner&

"?hat street is Delonico's on, anyay"

"(treet Eh, hy Fifth Avenue, of course&"

"I ean, hat cross street"

"?hy --let's see it's on Forty-fourth (treet&"

.his verified hat she had thought& )enry's office ust be across the street and ustaround the corner, and it occurred to her iediately that she ight slip over for aoent and surprise hi, float in on hi, a shiering arvel in her ne crison opera


36/61

cloa+ and "cheer hi up&" It as e5actly the sort of thing /dith revelled in doing --anunconventional, aunty thing& .he idea reached out and gripped at her iagination --afteran instant's hesitation she had decided&

"My hair is ust about to tuble entirely don," she said pleasantly to her partnerC "ould

you ind if I go and fi5 it"

"ot at all&"

"2ou're a peach&"

A fe inutes later, rapped in her crison opera cloa+, she flitted don a side-stairs, herchee+s gloing ith e5citeent at her little adventure& (he ran by a couple ho stood at

the door --a ea+-chinned aiter and an over-rouged young lady, in hot dispute --andopening the outer door stepped into the ar May night&

7hapter HII

.he over-rouged young lady folloed her ith a brief, bitter glance --then turned again tothe ea+-chinned aiter and too+ up her arguent&

"2ou better go up and tell hi I' here," she said defiantly, "or I'll go up yself&"

"o, you don'tB" said eorge sternly&

.he girl siled sardonically&

"Eh, I don't, don't I ?ell, let e tell you I +no ore college fellas and ore of 'e +noe, and are glad to ta+e e out on a party, than you ever sa in your hole life&"

"Maybe so -- --"

"Maybe so," she interrupted& "Eh, it's all right for any of 'e li+e that one that ust ran out--od +nos here she ent --it's all right for the that are as+ed here to coe or go as

they li+e --but hen I ant to see a friend they have soe cheap, ha-slinging, bring-e-a-doughnut aiter to stand here and +eep e out&"


37/61

"(ee here," said the elder ey indignantly, "I can't lose y ob& Maybe this fella you'retal+in' about doesn't ant to see you&"

"Eh, he ants to see e all right&"

"Any ays, ho could I find hi in all that crod"

"Eh, he'll be there," she asserted confidently& "2ou ust as+ anybody for ordon (terrettand they'll point hi out to you& .hey all +no each other, those fellas&"

(he produced a esh bag, and ta+ing out a dollar bill handed it to eorge&

")ere," she said, "here's a bribe& 2ou find hi and give hi y essage& 2ou tell hi if heisn't here in five inutes I' coing up&"

eorge shoo+ his head pessiistically, considered the @uestion for a oent, averedviolently, and then ithdre&

In less than the allotted tie ordon cae don-stairs& )e as drun+er than he had beenearlier in the evening and in a different ay& .he li@uor seeed to have hardened on hili+e a crust& )e as heavy and lurching alost incoherent hen he tal+ed&

"'*o, !eel," he said thic+ly& "7ae right aay& !eel, I couldn't get that oney& .ried ybest&"

"Money nothingB" she snapped& " 2ou haven't been near e for ten days& ?hat's theatter"

)e shoo+ his head sloly&

"8een very lo, !eel& 8een sic+&"

"?hy didn't you tell e if you ere sic+& I don't care about the oney that bad& I didn't startbothering you about it at all until you began neglecting e&"

Again he shoo+ his head&


38/61

")aven't been neglecting you& ot at all&"

")aven'tB 2ou haven't been near e for three ee+s, unless you been so drun+ you didn't+no hat you ere doing&"

"8een sic+, !eel," he repeated, turning his eyes upon her earily&

"2ou're ell enough to coe and play ith your society friends here all right& 2ou told eyou'd eet e for dinner, and you said you'd have soe oney for e& 2ou didn't evenbother to ring e up&"

"I couldn't get any oney&"

")aven't I ust been saying that doesn't atter I anted to see you, ordon, but yousee to prefer your soebody else&"

)e denied this bitterly&

".hen get your hat and coe along," she suggested&

ordon hesitated --and she cae suddenly close to hi and slipped her ars around hisnec+&

"7oe on ith e, ordon," she said in a half hisper& "?e'll go over to Devineries' andhave a drin+, and then e can go up to y apartent&"

"I can't, !eel, -- --"

"2ou can," she said intensely&

"I' sic+ as a dogB"

"?ell, then, you oughtn't to stay here and dance&"

?ith a glance around hi in hich relief and despair ere ingled, ordon hesitatedC then

she suddenly pulled hi to her and +issed hi ith soft, pulpy lips&


39/61

"All right," he said heavily& "I'll get y hat&

7hapter HIII

?hen /dith cae out into the clear blue of the May night she found the Avenue deserted&.he indos of the big shops ere dar+C over their doors ere dran great iron as+suntil they ere only shadoy tobs of the late day's splendor& lancing don toardForty-second (treet she sa a coingled blur of lights fro the all-night restaurants&Ever on (i5th Avenue the elevated, a flare of fire, roared across the street beteen thegliering parallels of light at the station and strea+ed along into the crisp dar+& 8ut atForty-fourth (treet it as very @uiet&

0ulling her cloa+ close about her /dith darted across the Avenue& (he started nervouslyas a solitary an passed her and said in a hoarse hisper --"?here bound, +id do" (heas reinded of a night in her childhood hen she had al+ed around the bloc+ in herpaaas and a dog had holed at her fro a ystery-big bac+ yard&

In a inute she had reached her destination, a to-story, coparatively old building onForty-fourth, in the upper indo of hich she than+fully detected a isp of light& It asbright enough outside for her to a+e out the sign beside the indo --the e 2or+.rupet& (he stepped inside a dar+ hall and after a second sa the stairs in the corner&

.hen she as in a long, lo roo furnished ith any des+s and hung on all sides ithfile copies of nes-papers& .here ere only to occupants& .hey ere sitting at differentends of the roo, each earing a green eye-shade and riting by a solitary des+ light&

For a oent she stood uncertainly in the dooray, and then both en turned aroundsiultaneously and she recognized her brother&

"?hy, /dithB" )e rose @uic+ly and approached her in surprise, reoving his eye-shade& )eas tall, lean, and dar+, ith blac+, piercing eyes under very thic+ glasses& .hey ere far-aay eyes that seeed alays fi5ed ust over the head of the person to ho he astal+ing&

)e put his hands on her ars and +issed her chee+&

"?hat is it" he repeated in soe alar&

"I as at a dance across at Delonico's, )enry," she said e5citedly, "and I couldn't resist


40/61

tearing over to see you&"

"I' glad you did&" )is alertness gave ay @uic+ly to a habitual vagueness& " 2ou oughtn'tto be out alone at night though, ought you"

.he an at the other end of the roo had been loo+ing at the curiously, but at )enry'sbec+oning gesture he approached& )e as loosely fat ith little tin+ling eyes, and, havingreoved his collar and tie, he gave the ipression of a Middle-?estern farer on a(unday afternoon&

".his is y sister," said )enry& "(he dropped in to see e&"

")o do you do" said the fat an, siling& "My nae's 8artholoe, Miss 8radin& I +no

your brother has forgotten it long ago&"

/dith laughed politely&

"?ell," he continued, "not e5actly gorgeous @uarters e have here, are they"

/dith loo+ed around the roo&

".hey see very nice," she replied& "?here do you +eep the bobs"

".he bobs" repeated 8artholoe, laughing& ".hat's pretty good --the bobs& Did youhear her, )enry (he ants to +no here e +eep the bobs& (ay, that's pretty good&"

/dith sung herself onto a vacant des+ and sat dangling her feet over the edge& )erbrother too+ a seat beside her&

"?ell," he as+ed, absent-indedly, "ho do you li+e e 2or+ this trip"

"ot bad& I'll be over at the 8iltore ith the )oyts until (unday& 7an't you coe toluncheon to-orro"

)e thought a oent&

"I' especially busy," he obected, "and I hate oen in groups&"


41/61

"All right," she agreed, unruffled& "*et's you and e have luncheon together&"

"Hery ell&"

"I'll call for you at telve&"

8artholoe as obviously an5ious to return to his des+, but apparently considered that itould be rude to leave ithout soe parting pleasantry&

"?ell" --he began a+ardly&

.hey both turned to hi&

"?ell, e --e had an e5citing tie earlier in the evening&"

.he to en e5changed glances&

"2ou should have coe earlier," continued 8artholoe, soehat encouraged& "?e hada regular vaudeville&"

"Did you really"

"A serenade," said )enry& "A lot of soldiers gathered don there in the street and began toyell at the sign&"

"?hy" she deanded&

"!ust a crod," said )enry, abstractedly& "All crods have to hol& .hey didn't haveanybody ith uch initiative in the lead, or they'd probably have forced their ay in hereand sashed things up&"

"2es," said 8artholoe, turning again to /dith, "you should have been here&"

)e seeed to consider this a sufficient cue for ithdraal, for he turned abruptly and ent

bac+ to his des+&


42/61

"Are the soldiers all set against the (ocialists" deanded /dith of her brother& "I ean dothey attac+ you violently and all that"

)enry replaced his eye-shade and yaned&

".he huan race has coe a long ay," he said casually, "but ost of us are thro-bac+sCthe soldiers don't +no hat they ant, or hat they hate, or hat they li+e& .hey're usedto acting in large bodies, and they see to have to a+e deonstrations& (o it happens tobe against us& .here've been riots all over the city to-night& It's May Day, you see&"

"?as the disturbance here pretty serious"

"ot a bit," he said scornfully& "About tenty-five of the stopped in the street about nine

o'cloc+, and began to bello at the oon&"

"Eh" -- (he changed the subect& "2ou're glad to see e, )enry"

"?hy, sure&"

"2ou don't see to be&"

"I a&"

"I suppose you thin+ I' a --a aster& (ort of the ?orld's ?orst 8utterfly&"

)enry laughed&

"ot at all& )ave a good tie hile you're young& ?hy Do I see li+e the priggish andearnest youth"

"o --" (he paused, " --but soeho I began thin+ing ho absolutely different the partyI' on is fro --fro all your purposes& It sees sort of --of incongruous, doesn't it --ebeing at a party li+e that, and you over here or+ing for a thing that'll a+e that sort ofparty ipossible ever any ore, if your ideas or+&"

"I don't thin+ of it that ay& 2ou're young, and you're acting ust as you ere brought up to

act& o ahead --have a good tie"


43/61

)er feet, hich had been idly singing, stopped and her voice dropped a note&

"I ish you'd --you'd coe bac+ to )arrisburg and have a good tie& Do you feel sure thatyou're on the right trac+ -- --"

"2ou're earing beautiful stoc+ings," he interrupted& "?hat on earth are they"

".hey're ebroidered," she replied, glancing don& "Aren't they cunning" (he raised hers+irts and uncovered sli, sil+-sheathed calves& "Er do you disapprove of sil+ stoc+ings"

)e seeed slightly e5asperated, bent his dar+ eyes on her piercingly&

"Are you trying to a+e e out as criticizing you in any ay, /dith"

"ot at all -- --"

(he paused& 8artholoe had uttered a grunt& (he turned and sa that he had left hisdes+ and as standing at the indo&

"?hat is it" deanded )enry&

"0eople," said 8artholoe, and then after an instant:

"?hole a of the & .hey're coing fro (i5th Avenue&"

"0eople"

.he fat an pressed his nose to the pane&

"(oldiers, by odB" he said ephatically& "I had an idea they'd coe bac+&"

/dith uped to her feet, and running over oined 8artholoe at the indo&

".here's a lot of theB" she cried e5citedly& "7oe here, )enryB"

)enry readusted his shade, but +ept his seat&


44/61

")adn't e better turn out the lights" suggested 8artholoe&

"o& .hey'll go aay in a inute&"

".hey're not," said /dith, peering fro the indo& ".hey're not even thin+ing of goingaay& .here's ore of the coing& *oo+ --there's a hole crod turning the corner of(i5th Avenue&"

8y the yello glo and blue shados of the street lap she could see that the sideal+as croded ith en& .hey ere ostly in unifor, soe sober, soe enthusiasticallydrun+, and over the hole sept an incoherent claor and shouting&

)enry rose, and going to the indo e5posed hiself as a long silhouette against theoffice lights& Iediately the shouting becae a steady yell, and a rattling fusillade ofsall issiles, corners of tobacco plugs, cigarette-bo5es, and even pennies beat againstthe indo& .he sounds of the rac+et no began floating up the stairs as the folding doorsrevolved&

".hey're coing upB" cried 8artholoe&

/dith turned an5iously to )enry&

".hey're corning up, )enry&"

Fro don-stairs in the loer hall their cries ere no @uite audible&

" --od dan (ocialistsB"

"0ro-eransB 8oche-loversB"

"(econd floor, frontB 7oe onB"

"?e'll get the sons -- --"

.he ne5t five inutes passed in a drea& /dith as conscious that the claor burstsuddenly upon the three of the li+e a cloud of rain, that there as a thunder of any feeton the stairs, that )enry had seized her ar and dran her bac+ toard the rear of the


45/61

office& .hen the door opened and an overflo of en ere forced into the roo --not theleaders, but siply those ho happened to be in front&

")ello, 8oB"

"9p late, ain't you"

"2ou an' your girl& Dan youB"

(he noticed that to very drun+en soldiers had been forced to the front, here theyobbled fatuously --one of the as short and dar+, the other as tall and ea+ of chin&

)enry stepped forard and raised his hand&

"FriendsB" he said&

.he claor faded into a oentary stillness, punctuated ith utterings&

"FriendsB" he repeated, his far-aay eyes fi5ed over the heads of the crod, "you'reinuring no one but yourselves by brea+ing in here to-night& Do e loo+ li+e rich en Doe loo+ li+e erans I as+ you in all fairness -- --"

"0ipe donB"

"I'll say you doB"

"(ay, ho's your lady friend, buddy"

A an in civilian clothes, ho had been paing over a table, suddenly held up anespaper&

")ere it isB" he shouted& ".hey anted the erans to in the arB"

A ne overflo fro the stairs as shouldered in and of a sudden the roo as full ofen all closing around the pale little group at the bac+& /dith sa that the tall soldier ith

the ea+ chin as still in front& .he short dar+ one had disappeared&


46/61

(he edged slightly bac+ard, stood close to the open indo, through hich cae a clearbreath of cool night air&

.hen the roo as a riot& (he realized that the soldiers ere surging forard, glipsedthe fat an singing a chair over his head --instantly the lights ent out, and she felt the

push of ar bodies under rough cloth, and her ears ere full of shouting and traplingand hard breathing&

A figure flashed by her out of nohere, tottered, as edged sideays, and of a suddendisappeared helplessly out through the open indo ith a frightened, fragentary crythat died staccato on the boso of the claor& 8y the faint light streaing fro thebuilding bac+ing on the area /dith had a @uic+ ipression that it had been the tall soldierith the ea+ chin&

Anger rose astonishingly in her& (he sung her ars ildly, edged blindly toard thethic+est of the scuffling& (he heard grunts, curses, the uffled ipact of fists&

")enryB" she called frantically, ")enryB"

.hen, it as inutes later, she felt suddenly that there ere other figures in the roo& (heheard a voice, deep, bullying, authoritativeC she sa yello rays of light seeping here andthere in the fracas& .he cries becae ore scattered& .he scuffling increased and thenstopped&

(uddenly the lights ere on and the roo as full of policeen, clubbing left and right&.he deep voice booed out:

")ere noB )ere noB )ere noB"

And then:

"Guiet don and get outB )ere noB"

.he roo seeed to epty li+e a ash-bol& A policean fast-grappled in the cornerreleased his hold on his soldier antagonist and started hi ith a shove toard the door&.he deep voice continued& /dith perceived no that it cae fro a bull-nec+ed policecaptain standing near the door&

")ere noB .his is no ayB Ene of your on soers got shoved out of the bac+ indo an'+illed hisselfB"


47/61

")enryB" called /dith, ")enryB"

(he beat ildly ith her fists on the bac+ of the an in front of herC she brushed beteento othersC fought, shrie+ed, and beat her ay to a very pale figure sitting on the floor

close to a des+&

")enry," she cried passionately, "hat's the atter ?hat's the atter Did they hurt you"

)is eyes ere shut& )e groaned and then loo+ing up said disgustedly -- --

".hey bro+e y leg& My od, the foolsB"

")ere noB" called the police captain& ")ere noB )ere noB"

7hapter I>

"7hilds', Fifty-ninth (treet," at eight o'cloc+ of any orning differs fro its sisters by lessthan the idth of their arble tables or the degree of polish on the frying-pans& 2ou ill seethere a crod of poor people ith sleep in the coers of their eyes, trying to loo+ straightbefore the at their food so as not to see the other poor people& 8ut 7hilds', Fifty-ninth,four hours earlier is @uite unli+e any 7hilds' restaurant fro 0ortland, Eregon, to 0ortland,Maine& ?ithin its pale but sanitary alls one finds a noisy edley of chorus girls, collegeboys, debutantes, ra+es, filles de oie --a not unrepresentative i5ture of the gayest of8roaday, and even of Fifth Avenue&

In the early orning of May the second it as unusually full& Ever the arble-topped

tables ere bent the e5cited faces of flappers hose fathers oned individual villages&.hey ere eating buc+heat ca+es and scrabled eggs ith relish and gusto, anaccoplishent that it ould have been utterly ipossible for the to repeat in the saeplace four hours later&

Alost the entire crod ere fro the aa 0si dance at Delonico's e5cept forseveral chorus girls fro a idnight revue ho sat at a side table and ished they'd ta+enoff a little ore a+e-up after the sho& )ere and there a drab, ouse-li+e figure,desperately out of place, atched the butterflies ith a eary, puzzled curiosity& 8ut thedrab figure as the e5ception& .his as the orning after May Day, and celebration as

still in the air&


48/61

us ose, sober but a little dazed, ust be classed as one of the drab figures& )o hehad got hiself fro Forty-fourth (treet to Fifty-ninth (treet after the riot as only a hazyhalf-eory& )e had seen the body of 7arrol ey put in an abulance and driven off, andthen he had started up ton ith to or three soldiers& (oehere beteen Forty-fourth(treet and Fifty-ninth (treet the other soldiers had et soe oen and disappeared&ose had andered to 7olubus 7ircle and chosen the gleaing lights of 7hilds' to

inister to his craving for coffee and doughnuts& )e al+ed in and sat don&

All around hi floated airy, inconse@uential chatter and high-pitched laughter& At first hefailed to understand, but after a puzzled five inutes he realized that this as theafterath of soe gay party& )ere and there a restless, hilarious young an anderedfraternally and failiarly beteen the tables, sha+ing hands indiscriinately and pausingoccasionally for a facetious chat, hile e5cited aiters, bearing ca+es and eggs aloft,sore at hi silently, and buped hi out of the ay& .o ose, seated at the ostinconspicuous and least croded table, the hole scene as a colorful circus of beautyand riotous pleasure&

)e becae gradually aare, after a fe oents, that the couple seated diagonallyacross fro hi, ith their bac+s to the crod, ere not the least interesting pair in theroo& .he an as drun+& )e ore a dinner coat ith a dishevel led tie and shirt sollenby spillings of ater and ine& )is eyes, di and blood-shot, roved unnaturally fro sideto side& )is breath cae short beteen his lips&

")e's been on a spreeB" thought ose&

.he oan as alost if not @uite sober& (he as pretty, ith dar+ eyes and feverish highcolor, and she +ept her active eyes fi5ed on her copanion ith the alertness of a ha+&Fro tie to tie she ould lean and hisper intently to hi, and he ould anser byinclining his head heavily or by a particularly ghoulish and repellent in+&

ose scrutinized the dubly for soe inutes, until the oan gave hi a @uic+,resentful loo+C then he shifted his gaze to to of the ost conspicuously hilarious of theproenaders ho ere

Documents

Primero de Mayo en Ingles