The Face of Rosenfeld — page 83: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

"6 THE FACE OF ROSENFEL. the same disheartening fate. Clearly there was nothing to do but to plunge into Flood Street and question the inhabitants. Fortunately, this was not an extensive avenue, but it made up in the density of its population what it lacked in length. ‘There was more humanity here to the square foot than in ten streets out of any average dozen in the city. It was a cross street stretching between two brilhantly-lighted thoroughfares, easy of access and not a dangerous neighborhood, but pervaded with a general air of dilapidation and thronged with a most hetero- geneous collection of people. ‘‘Cheap lodging-houses,” thought Maxey, as his elance wandered along the fronts of the dingy brick structures. ‘Truly, I have undertaken a serious task. I may as well begin at the first house and go through in order, I shall never find out-anything by random queries.” Maxey did not at all overestimate the magnitude of his undertaking. If he had been on an ordinary errand or in an ordinary mood he would have retired in disgust ere he was half through. He rang at least two-thirds of the bells in the street and followed each ring with a more or less tedious inquiry into the personnel of the in- mates of that house before he met with an encouraging response. At the door of No. 40 he put the usual question to an overgrown urchin, who answered his sum- mons and received the customary reply: ‘“No such person here, sir.” “Sure?” Jia a sure,” said the boy, “but I will ask pa if you say so.” Pa was a small, wiry man with a sly face, who came