All Story Magazine, December 1913 — page 74: what you’re looking at

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

784 Some one screamed; a glass crashed to the floor, and Rollins, white with fear, sprang up, as Tillie, with a little, choked-off .cry, lurched away from Grege’s blow, slipped and toppled back- ward—into my lap! A burst of raucous laughter greeted the dénouement, and the matter ended there. Ere Gregg could recover his balance, several men crowded about him and forced him back into his chair, while Tillie and I, contrary to the facetious advice of several kindly disposed per- sons, disentangled ourselves. The girl, casting but a single look behind, burst through the cirele that barred her way and fled. Rollins sat down again very slowly, visibly shaking, and looking as if he feared another rumpus/that would not terminate so swiftly. I observed Della staring straight at me without a particle of life in her ex- pression. Her Cathedral - Parkway clothes had given way to a waist and skirt; but it was easy to see that that made no difference to Jimmy, though it was difficult to understand whether he was attentive to her because of her standing with the “ chief "—or simply because he wanted to be on his own account. Suddenly, in the midst of the general chatter and the work of pacifying the ponderous Gregg—who, you may re- meinber, was put upon the trail of the negro, Batch—some one shouted : “Shake her up, Della! - Heres Crabbe and Paler! ” Della swung lazily toward the piano, as I turned my head toward the door. Rollins glanced swiftly at me; we both watched the advance of “ sub-lieuten- ants’ Crabbe and Paler, who came down the center of the floor in a direct line, swerving not an inch to avoid col- lision with any one, but making the others give them the right of way. They were of equal height, walked arm-in-arm, and physically were per- fect specimens—until they came a little nearer... Then I wanted to laugh. THE ALL-STORY MAGAZINE. Each had one eye! And each had the one the other hadn't h I could not, even now, teli you which had which. Rollins was plainly in distress; sug- gesting that he had met Crabbe possi- bly but once, and, as any one would have been likely to do, trusted to recognizing him again, through the medium of the hollow eye-socket. They marched up to Gregg’s table, to the accompaniment of ragtime, and the little crowd that hung round Til- lie’s aggrieved victim faded away, led by the straw-haired girl, to resume dancing. Gregg looked up at the odd pair sul- lenly. “Aw —she was grousin’ all the time,’ he whined, before the others had given any indication that, they knew anything about it, and as if he expected some punishment or other. “What ye want to come layin’ it on to me for?” “ Who's goin’ to, you big rummy ?” the fellow nearest me asked and grinned the width of his _ face. “Trouble with you, Gregg, you got a hunch that the whole woild quits woik jus’ to give you hell. ‘Tillie ain’t said a woid for or again’ you, so don’ go pannin’ her. Why don’ you git up an’ rag? You ain't worryin’ ‘bout the coon's healt’, are you?” ss * Quit your kiddin’, Paler,” the big man advised and almost smiled. “ If that nigger shakes the hosp’tal inside o’ a mont’—I'll put him back to woik out his time.” The smile became a laugh, callous and cruel, and Gregg raised his large bulk out of the chair slowly. “Think Rosie’d slam me if I ast her to do a turn wit’ me?” “T ain't got Rosie’s taste,” Paler returned. ‘* Mebbe she wouldn't. You got a tongue, ain’t you? ”’ Gregg lumbered across the floor, dodging the dancers with surprising agility, and found a table, temporarily vacant, upon the other side of the comlicbooks.com