Argosy, Vol. 112, No. 2 — page 180: what you’re looking at

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

346 knows—that, once back in the office, he must sit down, take off his hat, count ten, and expectorate. This to remove the curse of coming back. Otherwise he might sure- ly expect bad luck. Charley performed these rites as furtive- ly as possible; but even then was detected by some of the clerks, who perhaps were. on the lookout for him, and was loudly “ragged ” for his superstition, as they ig- norantly called it. But worse than the laughter of the clerks —when he glanced up at the glass door of the inner office he saw. the scowling face of the manager, whose attention had been at- tracted by the noise in the outer office. The manager was one of the rat-dog kind that grabs fate by the back of the neck and shakes it to pieces, and—well—that was the last day Charley collected bills for that firm. On the eve of starvation, almost, Char- ley got another “ job” at collecting. But an inconsiderate painter found it necessary to put his ladder over the office door one day, and poor Charley couldn’t get in for two hours. Because there can be no worse sign than walking under a ladder, you know. He lost another place on account of the well-known aversion of the Goddess of Fortune to the number thirteen; and when we make his acquaintance, this cold win- ter’s evening, he is slinking along in his threadbare coat, keeping as much under the lee of the fences and buildings as pos- sible, his conciliatory smile a little worn and wan, for it is hard to smile in the eve- ning when you haven’t eaten since the night before—slinking along and saying to him- self that if at the next corner, where the buildings open out to the.sky, he sees the new moon over his right shoulder—which shoulder he keeps carefully turned in the direction where the moon ought to be—if he does so see it, that will indicate that good fortune has him in charge, and he will go down to Henry Jones’s, where the sign says “ Eat,” and ask for a square meal —same to be charged up. Our friend Charley was so intent upon his own business that at first he did not notice the old gentleman who was walking THE ARGOSY. ahead of him, but when his eye did light on this person, Charley immediately inter- preted a peculiarity of movement which, to a novice in the art of conciliating fate and warding off evil fortune, might have been considered most puzzling. The old gentleman was well wrapped up and protected from the raw wind in his greatcoat, and looked as comfortable as could be expected for one who had to be out on such a night. It was not his dress that attracted Charley’s attention; it was the way he was walking over the large flag- stones that formed the sidewalk in this rather ancient part of the town. The old man kept his eyes on the ground, and, stepping from side to side, seemed to be picking his way as one crossing a stream on stepping-stones. An ordinary pedestrian not skilled in the occult ways of propitiat- ing fortune, would have seen no necessity for this care in stepping; for the sidewalk was not worse than ‘such old-fashioned stonework usually is. To be sure, there were occasional icy places, but their avoid- ance required no such erratic movements as the old man indulged in. As a matter of fact, he paid no attention to the ice at all, but stepped recklessly upon it whenever it was in the way of his course. ‘Wise old guy,” said Charley to himself. “He knows better than to step on any of the cracks. I don’t know, but I may have stepped on one of ’em myself, when that gust of wind pushed me along back there in the dark. It was so black I couldn’t see very well. I ought to ’a’ been more careful. I do hope to goodness I didn’t do it. It ud be pretty tough to get the moon and everything else all right, and-then, after all, get knocked out of the eats at old Jones’s lunchroom just for havin’ stepped on a crack.” } Charley was so worried over these dis- turbing thoughts that for a few minutes he forgot all about the old man. Then the sudden gyrations of the figure caught his eye. The old man had stepped on an icy place. A few desperate reverse motions of the legs, trying to catch himself; each time the heels striking too far forward to gain EComicbooks (E©)