T. Tembarom

icariously at weddings and wedding receptions, afternoon teas and dances, given in halls. "Up-town" seemed to them largely given to entertainment and hilarity of an enviably prodigal sort.

ing the wrong people, was met roughly or grudgingly, and found no resource left but to beat a retreat. He made no mention of his experiences in the blizzard, which continued, and at times nearly beat breath and life out of him as he fought his way through it. Especially he told no story of the morning when, after having labored furiously over the writing of his "stuff" until long after midnight, he had ta

said rather uncertainly as

t himself and harr

as he saw Tembarom move to the o

himself and cl

big chance for a fellow like me. If it's too big a chance-why-that's all. But

d have to cut it all out. There's no time." He fell back in his chair with a hopeless movement, and rubbed his forehead nervously with the back of his hand. Ten people more or less were waiting to speak to him; he was worn out with the rush of work. He believed in the page, and did not want to give up his idea; but h

l night. I guess I've caught on to what you DON'T want. I've put in too many fool words. I got them out of other pa

, there's no time to find another man, and the page must be cut

pers, he saw the photogr

a lot of stuff here. Biker couldn't get anything." He glanced up at the young fel

way. I went into a confectionery store where they make wedding-cakes. A

id Galton, gri

y of them were willing to talk. I told them what a big thing the page was going to be, and I-well, I said the more they helped me the finer it wou

n lau

ndle it, you'd make it a hit. Well, take it alo

said he had a headache. After dinner he bolted upstairs after L

ain?" he said. "I'm in the tightes

ed, and as his face had grown flushed by this time

he said. "It's the page. It seems

ed back

om," she said "I'm just r

ere people in it, they found a corner apart, and in le

manuscript he

I've only been to a common Manchester school. I don't know anything ab

he studied the blue slash

wn, "I should have cut those words out myself if-if you'd a

encil out of his poc

you take this and draw it throug

too much upon myself," she said.

argued. "I didn't know they were showy. I thought t

a child correcting an exercise. Presently he saw she was quite absorbed. Sometimes she stopped and thought, pressing her lips together; somet

e instead of 'mansion' if I w

he answered gratefully. "Whatever you say go

she cut out just what Galton would have cut out. She put the papers tog

cup of coffee over the little oil-stove. If you'll come and knock at th

d the next morning when he handed back the "stuff" entirely rewritten. H

aid at last. "You will catch on still more as you

that goes?" Tem

ton. "You can turn it in. We

h laugh, and the blood came back to his face. He had a whole month before

rk like

t out in all weathers and stayed out to all hours. Whatsoever rebuffs or difficulties he met with he never was even on the verge of losing his nerve. He a

Schwartz vedding, an' dere vas dat blizzard. He owned up he vas new, an' vanted some vun vhat knew to tell him vhat vas goin' on. 'Course I could do it. Me an' my vife give h

to Little Ann at moments of desperate uncertainty, but he was man enough to do his work himself. In glorious moments when he was rather sure that Galton was far from unsatisfied with his progress, and Ann had looked more than usually distracting in her aloof and sob

say to himself. "She'd throw me down hard if s

's boarders called his "Freak." He never called him a "freak" himself even at the first. Even his somewhat undeveloped mind felt

ise it ca

et and rain which filled the streets with melted snow, and made walking a fearsome thing. Tembarom had plenty of walkin

neck, and then strike out," he sa

ad worn things brought from Paris. Tembarom had gone from house to house. He had even searched out aunts whose favor he had won professionally. He had appealed to his dressmaker, whose affection he had by that time fully gained. She was doing work in the brides' houses, and could make it clear that he would not call peau de cygne "Surah silk," nor duchess lace "Baby Irish." But the young ladies enjoyed being besought by a society page. It was something to

nially as he turned to go down the steps. "I'll just keep going. The Sunday

they had finally returned. They had heard from the servant-girl about what the young gentleman from the Sunday Earth had s

He doesn't think he knows everything. He came to me from Mrs. Munsberg, just to ask me the names of fash

He's got a pleasant laugh; shows his teeth, and they're real pretty and white; and he just laughed like a boy and

frame of mind as a young man can be when he is used up with tramping the streets, and running after street-cars, to stand up in them and hang by a strap. He had been wearing a new pair of boots, one of which rubbed his heel and had ended by raising a blister worthy of attention. To reach the nearest "L" station he must

' I'm bound to get there sometime, anyhow," he s

were only scantily built up, and he was passing through one at the corner of which was a big vacant lot. At the other corner a row of cheap houses which had only reached their second story waited among piles of bricks and frozen mortar for the return of the workmen the blizzard had dispersed. It was a desolate-enough thoroughfare, and not a soul was in sight. The vacant lot was fenced in with high boarding plastered over with flaring sheets advertising

h his teeth, "I shall have to ta

of the wedding service. He cautiously removed his boot, and finding a hole in his sock in the place where the blis

er," he said, wi

ly. This was not because the blister had hurt him, b

broke from him.

treet the thing was unnatural enough to make any man jump. He had heard it between two gusts of wind

er! I can't-rem

ort of misery in it which made Tembarom feel rather sick. He had never heard a man so

aid, "the fellow'

e was not a human being in sight. Even p

cried. "Wh

mal thrill of the moment. One had to find out about a thing like that one just had to. One could not go on and leave it behind uninvest

d the fence," he said.

own, or had perhaps been pulled down by boys who wanted to get inside. He went through it, and found lie was in the usual vacant lot long given up to rubbish. When he s

ound himself taking part in a melodrama,-"The Streets of New York," for choice,-though no melodrama had ever given him this slightly shaky feeling. But when a fellow

id with cheerful awkwar

frightened. He was wet, unshaven, white and shuddering, pite

p?" said

breath cau

was evidently making an effort to control him-self. "I can't-I can't r

ingly. "If I cou

you get

wouldn't understand. He would have stoppe

asked Tembarom, not kn

in. He put his arm against the boarding and dropped his

e or so, it had licked its chops and turned up its eyes at him with such abject appeal that he had not been able to turn it into the streets again. He was unsentimental, but ruled by primitive emotions. Also he had a sudden recollection of a night when as a little fellow he had gone into a vacant lot and cried as like this

," he said. "I'll h

elling. He was not of the tramp order. His wet clothes had been decent, and his broken, terrified voice was

t it won't come back. You're a good fellow; if you're human, help me! help me! help me!" He clung to Tembarom with hands which shook; his eyes were more abject than the starved dog's; he choked, an

His efforts had failed. Tembarom, overwrough

up a fight. It'll come back. I tell you it will. You've had a clip on the

rds, the man's terror was so ill to behold. He

his head. "I won't do it, though what in thunder I'm g

ith a bewildered scrutiny. "I'm not afraid of you," he said; "I don't know why. There's something all right abou

nt a bed and a bath and a night's rest. I guess I've let myself

a worse fix than he was. Women were kinder-hearted than men, anyhow. The way the fellow's voice sounded when he said, "Help me, help me, help me!" sounded as though he was in hell. "Made me

k him some moments to get at what he wanted. He evidently had a belt or a hidden pocket. He got something out and stopped under a street light to show it to Tembarom. His hands still shook when he held them out, and his look was a c

it," he said.

n't go giving away your whole pile to th

is shoulder, the abject look in his eyes

all right about y

for it." Tembarom hesitated, but the next instant he stuffed it a

ou're worth." And they fled up the street and up t