Читать книгу Adventure Tales #4 - Seabury Quinn - Страница 7

DOUBLE-SHUFFLE, by Edwin Baird

Sammy the tramp owned a discontent—a perplex­ing, irritating discontent. At a sloppy table in his favorite Chicago saloon he sat and scowled and es­sayed self-analysis. But it was no use. His distemper eluded diagnosis.

He lowered his head, glared sullenly at his glass, and in a low voice swore so vividly that his pot-companion, sitting opposite, was moved to a pipe of tobacco and compassion­ate utterance.

“Why, Sammy,” he asked with brotherly concern, “what’s bitin’ you, pal? I declare, you’re a cross between a mildewed squash and G. Bernard Shaw eat­in’ pickles and lemons. Come, why so pensive—”

“Aw, freeze up,” growled Sammy, “and have another drink,” he added penitently.

He motioned to the bartender and from a pocket of his patched and grimy trousers plucked a wad of ragged money the size of his wrist. This occasioned no riot. Since it was on dit in lower Clark Street circles that an uncompromising switch-engine had recently sent Sammy to a St. Louis hos­pital, that a compromising claim agent had given him three hundred dollars, and that about one hundred and fifty dollars of this sum yet remained with him, the barroom foregathering evinced no surprise at the plethoric display.

But a trembling, whisky-crazed wretch, who had just entered, noticed, and his watery eyes glistened with a feverish anticipation. With timorous humility he sidled to the table, sat down, and looked meekly, plead­ingly at the wealthy one.

Silently Sammy pushed back his chair and rose. Irately he pointed to the door.

“Get out o’ here!” he roared. “You and your greasy leer. Get out, you—you—rat! Quick, or I’ll bounce this booze-jug off your knob.”

He seized the bottle from the returning bartend­er. The intruder hastily departed, upsetting two or three chairs en route. Sox surveyed his comrade in meek wonder.

“Sammy,” he began timidly after the excitement had subsided, “what—”

“I’ll tell you what!” blazed Sammy, leaning across the table with right fist clenched. “I’m sick of this”—he waved his left hand around the smutty barroom. “I’m sick of associatin’ with pigs like you; I’m sick of not seein’ and knowin’ nobody but a lot of ragged guys who don’t do nothin’ but soak up cheap booze and sleep and cuss. I’m sick of it all—see?”

He glanced contemptuously at his audi­tor, then moved his chair round and turned his back.

Somewhere below the unwashed surface of Sox’s poltroonery smoldered a spark of spunk. It flared up now defiantly.

“And who are you,” he cried hotly, “to talk about ragged pigs! What’re you, I’d like to know. You’re a fine-lookin’ swell, ain’t you! Huh!” He spat vigorously. “A fine-lookin’ swell! You look like a last year’s scarecrow daubed wit’ mud—”

He stopped, awed by his own temerity and the fact that Sammy had risen and was standing over him threateningly.

But the next second the malcontent had turned away and was striding toward the swinging doors. Near the end of the bar a group of frowsy men hailed and sur­rounded him jovially, but drew back as he made no response and let him pass in peace.

Several blocks down the street he stopped and sardonically eyed his reflection in a full-length mir­ror of a corner haber­dasher’s. Not a very prepossessing reflection, modish reader, as you shall see.

From top to bottom thus: Hat of a der­by species and an obsolete vintage, cracked and rusty its crown, and from its dis­jointed brim straggles of unkempt hair curl­ing up over ears caked with the grime of many cities; the face as seamed and swollen as a twelve-cent chuck steak and thickly covered with a dark-red beard hacked to a convenient length with a pocket-knife; the eyes, faintly suggesting a bygone pride and intelligence, bloodshot from many potations; in lieu of linen, a greasy undershirt, insufficiently concealed by a buttonless waistcoat, faded and soiled beyond surmisal of its original pattern; the coat of a different hue; the trousers of another still; and woefully shielding his naked feet, shoes ragged and torn and precariously held together by wire and bits of twine.

Not in many years had Sammy seen a mirror larger than his hand, and now that he deliberately viewed himself from tat­tered tile to battered boot, an intense self-disgust welled up within him and he de­spised and loathed himself. He wheeled round suddenly, looked up and down the street, and strode savagely toward a bril­liantly lighted hostelry in the next block.

A minute later Sammy the tramp, who for the greater part of his twenty-six years of life had shunned bathtubs as though they were vats swarm­ing with rattlesnakes, was descending a marble staircase at the top of which blazed this sign:

TURKISH BATHS

An hour later, having meanwhile dispatched a messenger and twenty dollars to the corner haberdashery, he got into a bar­ber’s chair and ordered ­every­thing from shoe-shine to shampoo. From the bar­ber­shop he went to a unique establishment in State Street, where, on short notice, one could be supplied with all the proper habili­ments for evening wear. Silk hat, gloves, pumps, full-dress, all could be supplied while you waited—one hour.

So, after this space had elapsed, there stepped from this swift-aid-to-the-hurried firm a gentleman eminently correct in every detail, even to Inverness cape, gold-headed cane, and Turkish cigarette. His face was not unlike that of the average man of the world; its marks of dissipation had been softened, if not eradicated, by the barber’s massage; the mouth and chin were firm and well-shaped; his fingers care­fully mani­cured; his hair freshly trimmed. And in a pocket of his white pique waistcoat was a crumpled ten-dollar bill—all he had in the world.

Probably not the keenest of his associates could have pierced the masquerade and discerned beneath its elegance Sammy the tramp.

As he stood there, drawing on his gloves with a leisurely air, a shambling object, shivering in rags, dropped from the hurry­ing street throng, slouched dejectedly a few feet away, then shuffled over and touched his arm

“Can’t you help us a bit, sir?” whined the object piteously. “S’help me, I’m starvin’, sir. I ain’t eat nothin’ in forty-eight hours—” The rest was lost in a meaning­less mumble.

Without hesitation Sammy reached for the crumpled tenner. But quite as quickly changed his mind and interviewed his new watch.

Then he buttoned his coat, switched his cane up under his arm, and nodded to the beggar.

“Come on,” he said. “We’ll dine together.”

CHAPTER II

At about the same moment Sammy was swearing at Sox in the saloon, one of two young men sitting in the library of a hand­some home two miles away was acting rather uncivilly toward the other. His name was Hathaway Allison, and he belonged to a family rich enough to hire a professional genealogist to trace its lineage back to a tadpole.

“Are you asleep, Hathaway?” politely inquired his guest, who had repeated another question three times without eliciting even a monosyllabic response. “If you are, just say so, and I’ll quietly withdraw and leave you to your slumbers. I’m not ex­actly fond of hanging round where I’m not wanted, you know.”

Young Allison fidgeted impatiently and looked up with a little frown of annoyance.

“Oh, chop it, Bobby. No, I don’t know anything about—about what you asked me about.”

A servant entered and lighted the lamps. As the thickening dusk vanished before the soft light, Bob­by gave a little gasp of aston­ishment and leaned forward, staring wonderingly at his friend’s face.

“Well, great Dowie!” he exclaimed as soon as the servant had gone. “What’re you doing to your face? I’ll bet you haven’t shaved in a week.”

“You lose,” said Allison quickly. “Three weeks.”

“And your hair! Hathaway, have you boycotted the barbers, or what?”

Hathaway laughed nervously, snipped the end from a cigar, lighted it, took three or four puffs, flung it in the fire, then rose and locked all the doors.

He returned to his seat and his puzzled visitor, and for several seconds sat with brows knitted thoughtfully, tapping his fin­gers on the arms of his chair.

“Bobby,” he said suddenly, “I think I’m going to tell you something—something I’ve kept secret a great many years. But I can’t keep it any longer, and I’ve got to tell somebody, and it may as well be you.”

“’Twas a dark and stormy night,’” reminded Bob­by reprovingly. “But go ahead.”

“Some stage thunder and lightning or a little sobby music,” agreed Allison good-naturedly, “would not be inappropriate. For what I am about to reveal, Bobby, is as theatric as it is sensational; and I assure you it is sensational as a twenty-cent melo­drama. Of course, I may rely upon your absolute secrecy. It won’t get past you.”

He paused.

“Go on, please.”

“Bobby”—his voice lowered, he leaned over and looked his hearer steadily, solemnly in the eye—“Bob­by, my name is not Hathaway Allison.”

Bobby moved uneasily.

“The man and woman whom everybody thinks are my father and mother are not related to me in any way whatsoever.”

Bobby stood up impatiently.

“What the deuce is the matter with you today, Hathaway? You’re as creepy as a ghost professor. Go chop those whiskers off and cheer up. You look worse than a Kan­sas politician after a grasshopper plague.”

“No, Bobby, the whiskers stay. Shaggy hair, too. I’m going back, Bobby—back where I belong. And”—he brought his clenched fist heavily down upon his knee—“I’m going back tonight.”

“What’re you talking about? Going back where?”

Allison settled himself comfortably and lighted a cigarette.

“Well, Bobby, it’ll sound melodramatic, as I said before; but I’ll condense and cut the pathos. At the precocious age of six or thereabouts, the real Hatha­way Allison was lost, strayed, or stolen. I believe there was quite a turmoil at the time. But pos­sibly you’ve heard of the case—have you?”

“Of course. Mother’s told me a dozen times. Wasn’t there a mole, or a straw­berry mark, or something or other—”

“There was a scar—a deep, bright red scar—in the shape of a ‘V’ on the right forearm. But to get on with the story. As you know, a frantic search was started; fabulous rewards offered; detectives the world over did their worst. All to no pur­pose. Several years passed and the topic was forgotten.

“Then suddenly there was a great flour­ish and a beating of tom-toms, and it was announced to the world that Hathaway Al­lison was found. Congratula­tions, poor relations, neighbors, and reporters swarmed in. The newspapers raved, the populace cheered, all was happiness. The poor kid was exhibited, kissed, hugged, and photographed in twenty different attitudes.”

The speaker paused abruptly, crossed to the win­dow, stood looking out at turbulent Lake Michigan. After a minute or so he resumed his seat, and in a voice curiously altered, went on: “And the odd part of it all, Bobby, is that Hathaway Allison never was found. Never has been found, and, I am inclined to believe, never will be found.”

“Then how the—”

“The day of the hullaballoo there toddled into the kitchen of this house a poor, ragged youngster of nine or ten and asked for food. It seemed he was a sort of mascot of a gang of tramps, who sent him out to beg.

“The Allisons had been heart-broken since the loss of their child; little Hathaway and the embryo vagabond were not dissimi­lar in appearance; eyes and hair were al­most alike. You may guess the rest.”

He cleared his throat, shrugged his shoul­ders, and ended briefly: “Well, I was the kid, that’s all.”

Bobby’s harsh laugh broke the ensuing silence.

“Well, Well! Why all this emotion? You’re not the only adopted son in Chi­cago. The town’s full of’em.”

“Yes, I know; but—oh, I’m tired of all this”—he gestured round the luxurious room. “I know it sounds eccentric, but I’m tired of it, all the same—wealth and all that goes with it. I guess it’s in the blood.

“Along about this time of the spring I usually get the ‘call.’ Heretofore I’ve al­ways turned a deaf ear. But this time I’m going to answer. They’re in Europe now. And I’m going away tonight.”

Bobby snorted derisively and picked up his hat and gloves.

“Now, Hathaway, forget all this rubbish and put on your things and come with me to a barbershop. Afterward we’ll have din­ner together. My car’s outside, you know. Come on.”

But Hathaway smiled and shook his head.

“No use, my boy. I’m through.”

“Bosh! You’re not a second Count Tol­stoy, I hope. Are you coming?”

“No.”

“Very well. Goodnight.”

“I guess it’s good-by, Bobby.”

“See you at the club tomorrow,” called Bobby from the hall. “Good night.”

When his guest had gone, Allison went to his room, closed the door, and took from the wardrobe a suitcase, which he opened upon the bed. It contained a pair of rusty shoes, rustier trousers, frayed waistcoat and threadbare coat, and a sooty cap much too large.

With racing heart and trembling fingers, he stripped to his undergarments and donned the base attire. Afterward he knotted a faded bandana round his neck, pulled the cap low upon his brow, and surveyed him­self in the mirror.

Though obviously pleased with the effect, he stuffed the cap in a pocket, donned a derby, and cloaked his rags in a long over­coat before leaving the house, thus occa­sioning no undue curiosity among the servants.

Several blocks away he disappeared down a dark alley.

When some while later a dusty and seedy-looking tramp carrying a large newspaper bundle walked along the Rush Street bridge, the sharpest pair of eyes among Hathaway Allison’s acquaintances would have given him scarcely more than a passing glance.

In the center of the bridge he stopped, glanced quickly round, and stealthily con­signed his burden to the black water below. Then he made for State Street, and was swallowed up in the bustling, scrambling, six-o’clock crowds.

Presently, like a rambling derelict, he drifted out of the rushing stream into the harbor of a large doorway.

A sudden impulse had come over him. He would put his disguise to the test.

Affecting a woebegone attitude, he eyed furtively from beneath the weathered visor of his cap a well-dressed man of about his own age who stood a few feet away drawing on his gloves.

At length he slouched over to the pros­perous-looking one, laid a pleading hand on his broad­clothed arm, and muttered a sup­plication for alms.

CHAPTER III

The diners had reached the coffee-cigars-conversational stage of dinner, and chatty discourse was meet.

At his benefactor’s request, the shabby one held forth at length on the life of the road. He poured forth in a jargon won­drous to hear. He considered it the ver­nacular of trampdom.

He enthused over vagabondage; he paint­ed it in glowing colors; he indulged in remarkable superlatives; and when at last he had finished he was amazed at his power of imagination.

So amazed, indeed, that he failed to notice that his listener was staring at him rather curiously, as though puzzled about some­thing.

“Your story,” he said, resting his elbow on the table and turning his cigar thoughtfully between his fingers, “is pretty inter­esting—in a way. But don’t you think it sounds a little fishy? Your language, now—it’s just a little too funny to be natural.”

He leaned suddenly across the table and looked his guest squarely in the eye.

“How long have you been a ’bo?” he asked sharp­ly. “Who are you, anyhow?”

Young Allison turned pale beneath his ragged beard. It was a critical moment. Happily, the waiter saved it by arriving with the dinner-check. The bill amounted to nine dollars and forty cents. As the host handed the servitor a crumpled ten-dollar bill and waved him away, the guest rose hurriedly and put on his hat.

“Well, good-by, cap’n,” he stammered nervously. “I enjoyed de big dine im­mense. Good-by, good-by!”

He backed away a few steps, then turned and hurried swiftly out of the restaurant.

When he reached the street he stopped and rubbed his cheek thoughtfully.

“Now, who is that chap, I wonder?” he asked himself. “He certainly talked and acted queer. Not been used to money long, that’s plain. I wonder who he is.”

He gave it up, and turned aimlessly into Randolph Street. A light snow was beginning to fall. The theater crowds were ar­riving. He stopped before one of the playhouses and mingled in the crush around the foyer. Life, color, gaiety, were all round him. But he was an outcast.

An automobile rolled up to the curb, and a man and a woman whom he knew alight­ed. As they crossed the street he stepped deliberately in front of them. But neither noticed him. He was an outcast.

He walked on down to the corner. A troubled expression clouded his face. Au­tomatically he felt in his coat-pocket for his cigar-case. Then, remembering, laughed shortly and buttoned up his ragged coat.

The snow was growing heavier. Some of it seeped under his collar and trickled down his back. The wind tore at his thin gar­ments angrily. He shivered. The troubled expression deepened. Carriages and autos were now congesting the street. The thea­ter rush was at its height.

Suddenly a change seemed to come over him. He straightened up.

“I guess Bobby’s right,” he muttered aloud. “Yep.” He nodded his head; and, with final conviction: “Yep, he’s right. I’m a coward. I can’t do it.”

He cut across the street to a cab-stand.

The jehu regarded his prospective fare sapiently from his throne.

“Well, not tonight, old skeezicks,” he said good-naturedly. “I’m not running a Hinky Dink charity, line this year. But here’s a dime for you, anyway.”

Young Allison pocketed the dime without smil­ing. Then he reached inside his waist­coat, ripped out a canvas wallet sewed there­in, and took from it a thick sheaf of currency. He gave a five-dollar bill and an address to the cabby, who recovered from his astonishment only enough to drive his strange fare to the north side.

*****

Outside the restaurant, Sammy paused. It was snowing heavily.

The gorgeous door-flunkey approved him with an envious eye; a waiting taxi chauf­feur watched him hopefully; an earnest mendicant approached with his plea; and an ambitious policeman, anxious to curry favor, bustled up importantly when Sam­my, mindful of his empty pockets, growled a curt refusal.

He watched the beggar slink away be­fore the cop’s threatening baton. Then he, looked down and scratched the back of his neck as though somewhat perplexed.

“Now, I wonder who that guy was,” he murmured. “Not a moodier, and that’s certain. Gee, he was a funny gink!”

Round the corner he reached up, ripped off the high collar which had been torturing him all evening, flung it from him, peeled off his gloves, and cast them after the collar.

A few minutes later the bewhiskered pro­prietor of one of those wretched, filthy, sec­ond-hand clothing shops which infest lower Clark Street was moved to much friction-making with his palms by a fastidious-look­ing young man who entered the hovel and offered to trade the clothes he wore for some cheap cast-off garments and a cash consideration.

As the odd patron removed his coat and cuff-links and pushed back the sleeves of his shirt, a deep “V”-shaped scar on his right forearm glowed bright red in the light of the sputtering gas-jet.