nning of

marvel of the new world into which he had leaped-the old thin world of years condensed into one thick week-he realized that this very wondering had cost him five precious minutes. A dozen such periods made an hour, two dozen hours a day-one seventh of his living space. This thought so whetted his interest that he could have sat on here indefinitely, thrilled to the marrow by the mere pageant of life as it passed before his eyes on the street below. The sli

nd tried to think more soberly. He felt as though he must dull his quickened senses

a lot of things you wish to do in these next few days.

m to do was to buy a decent personal outfit. As soon as he gave his mind a definite object upon which to

, much silk underwear-a luxury he had always promised himself in that ghost future-and an extravagant supply of cravats, gloves, socks, and odds and ends. He omitted nothing necessary to make him feel a well-dressed man so far as he could find it ready made. There was nothin

Indian prince or whether as a result of drinking he merely felt like one. As time passed and he saw that the man was neither a

r him further by consulting his taste in the matter of ties and waistcoats, though he found that the latter's sporting instincts led him to colors too pronounced to harmonize with his own ideas. Still he appreciated the fact that Bobby was indulging in almost as many thrills as though he w

nt of the things themselves; this was his first taste, as well as Bobby's, of gratifying desires without worry of the reckoning. His wishes were now stripped to bare wants. He was free of the skeleton hand of the Future which had so long held h

ying up of a bundle, ended in itself, but was one of an endless vista of acts. The burden of the Future was upon them. They drooped, poor bloodless things, beneath the weight of the relentless days before them. And so this faded present was all their future, too. They saw nothing of the joyous world which spun around him bright as a new coin. They were dead, because of the weary days to come, to the magical brillianc

t ribbon beyond, the silent message of the black one (another long waiting); the muffled laugh and the muffled oath; the careless eyes that tossed the coin to the counter, the sharp eyes that followed it, the dead ones that pi

ad frequently passed, often lingering in front of the windows to admire quaint English prints. On cloudy days especially he had often made it a point to walk up there and breath

nthusiastically to Bob

'aint you spent it all?

as I can spen

s face g

nfidentially. "Whe

ved for it and suffered for it! And I earned with

before occurred to him: that the man was crazy. But the next second the gentle smile returned to

y of life, a part of the setting of some foreign world at which he gazed like a boy from the upper galleries of a theatre. He had rebelled at this, looking with some hostility at the well groomed men and women who accepted it with suc

an engraving or two, several English prints which seemed to welcome him like old friends, and a marine in water color because of the golden blue in i

another book store and then to where in his lean days he had seen a bit of Dresden that brought comfort to him through its dainty beauty. He took for his own now all the old familiar friends who had done what they could through store windows to brighten those days. They should be a part of him; share his week with him. There was that old hammered copper tra

to the boy. "And was n't it d

," agreed Bobby. "They seen you com

w me coming when yet I was a great way off. They knew me, so they

that ivory mo

early

his respect for Donalds

e, boy," exclaimed Dona

oses, a half dozen potted plants, and a small conse

es upstairs even when they were piled to his eye

on with you," he said. "And I hope w

four fif

n, give us your hand in case

paw. When he removed it, he found

d a passion for people, for crowds of people. He had thought at first that he might attend the theatre, but he realized now that the stage puppets were but faint reflections of the stirring drama all about him-the playw

ugh to watch them as they filed in; it would have been an anticlimax to have gone further. He craved good music, but a search of the papers did not reveal any concert of note, so he sought one of th

ke eyes burned from a white sensitive face that was almost emaciated; his thin lips were set as though in grim resolution; while even his brown hair refused to lend repose to the face, but, sticking out in cowlicks, added to the whole effect of nervousness still further exaggerated by the restless white hands. Over all, like a black veil, was an expression as of one haunted by a great fear. The man both rep

a type that she would choose for so intimate a friend as her presence here with him suggested. She did not talk much, but seemed rather to be on the alert to prote

cigarette. The familiar old tobacco brought him back to himself again so that for a few minutes he was able to give himself up to the swirling strains of the Hungarian orchestra. But even through the delicious intoxication of the waltz, the personality of this girl asserted itself to him. He got the impression now that sh

in that she was by no means enjoy

t moment the orchestra swept their strings in a minor and swirled off in a mystic dance like that of storm ghosts in the tree-tops. It caught him up with the girl and for a measure or so bore them along like leaves, in a new comradeship. To them the light laughter was hushed; to them the heavy smok

e, hoping that in passing her table he might find his opportunity to stop a moment. But they too ro

an order to the chauffeur. The latter left his seat and the girl expostulated. The chauffeur apparently hesitated, but, the younger man insisting, he hurried past Donaldson into the café. Unconsciously Donaldson moved nearer. He felt a foreboding of danger and a curious

e empty seat beside the girl. The man at the wheel had apparently not noticed him; he had plenty to

orward and grippe

He has lost himself again! Do yo