The Argosy, January 1907 — page 74: what you’re looking at

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

256 any attempt to see Adrian he would be discharged. Did that mean that young Lowther was hiding, for some reason, at home ? Wib was in a desperate situation. He had less than three days to satisfy the judgment recorded against him; he felt that he must risk discharge, if need be, to find Adrian Lowther. And after an interview that he had during the lunch-hour with Bella at the restaurant he was more than ever de- termined to risk everything in an) at- tempt to see the junior partner’s nephew. When Wib came into the lunch-room, that noon, Bella signaled him to wait ~ till the rush was over. “T got somet’ing to tell you,” she whispered. So he ate more. slowly than usual, and finally saw the near-by customers thin out. At her first opportunity Bella stopped to talk. “IT went up said. “Up where? ” “To see Jimmy—-you know. Wednesday. I took him up some ‘ tuck’ from the hash-house. They. let the friends of the jail prisoners bring ’em grub, and after the officers go t’rough it to see dat there ain’t no saws and crowbars in the pie they gives it to the poor chaps. Jimmy says the reg’lar eatin’ is somet’ing fierce!” “Oh, up to Brandon, you mean?” queried Wib, trying to repress a physic- al shiver at the thought of the place. “Yep. You know, they lets us talk to our friends t’rough a screen—it’s like feedin’ the animals in a menagerie, I tells Jimmy. An’ they cut his hair clos’t, there yesterday,” she "Twas an’ the clo’es they give him to wear is hand-me-downs from some odder pris- oner. It’s only the long-term men dat git® new duds there. “But, say! dat ain’t what I was goin’ to tell ye,’ added Bella, passing a man across the aisle a piece of pie and punch- ing his’ check. “You wait. I was re- memberin’ youse. ‘““T asked Jimmy,” she whispered, “ if there was any folks in there for owin’ people, an’ he says there is!” Wib nodded, and gulped down a morsel of eruller that came near to cho- king him. ] THE ARGOSY. ‘“ There’s a dozen or more there now. One old feller’s been there t’ree years. He won't take the oat’.” “What’s that?” “The poor-debtor’s oat’. Jimmy says if a feller’s sent up for debt he kin git out after a week by takin’ dis oat’— swearin’ that he don’t have no money, an’ never expects to have none—’r somet’in’ like dat. Chee! it’s tough on youse if dey jugs ye.” ‘“And—and these debtors are really kept in cells?” “Yep. Nights, anyway. Jimmy says they calis ’em boarders, but dat dey eat jest what he gits, only dey have sweet- enin’ in their drink, an’ t’ree meals on Sund’y instead of two. He says the convicts—the long-term fellers, like mur- derers—gits better grub than the coun- ty-jail prisoners. Oh, dat place ain’t no roof-garden, ycu kin bet. You wanter dodge it.” The stern eye of the “boss” here in- terrupted Bella’s flow of language, and Wib went away, fearing to be called down again by either Lowther or Mc- Cann if he exceeded his time limit. But all the afternoon the girl’s story buzzed in his mind. It strengthened his purpose to make desperate search for Adrian Lowther, come what would of it. He was reckless of consequences now, Let McCann & Lowther discharge him if they would. They might as well, if they were determined to rob him of his commissions and one hundred and eighty-five dollars besides. That evening he dressed himself again and started up-town. He knew where Adrian Lowther resided; the di- rectory told him that. The house was on a quiet street in one of the best neighborhoods of the fashionable quar- ter of Fallowsea. Adrian’s father—younger brother to the junior partner in the furniture firm —had been unfortunate in business just prior to his death, and had left his wife with only a small annuity, and his son to the care of Mark Lowther. So much information regarding the Lowthers was public property. Wib took the car up-town, and at a certain busy corner changed to the Belt Line. When he boarded this second car and seated himself gloomily in the far ° Gomichoo SS (E@)