THE SUNDAY FICTION MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 20, 1916.
premacy in dirt B will carry oft the
palm. Inhabited almost exclusively, by
persons of a very low class, each street
presenta an aspect of squalor and filth un
equaled probably in the so-called civil
ized world'.
The wretched little carriage I was in
tossed and tumbled about amidst the
urged me to proceed on my way by the
next train In a manner that was really
uncivil.
The husband, however, was more
amenable. He was not averse to making
an honest penny, so, turning a deaf ear
to his wife's remonstrances, he ushered
me upstairs to a fairly comfortable room,
though I tried to steady my nerves and
.subdue this overanxiety of mind, a sinis
ter impression was upon me. and a warn
ing conviction of near peril oppressed me.
me. I knew not from what quarter, no
in what form, but that peril was at hand
I did not for a moment doubt.
I threw myself on my knees and prayed
earnestly for strength and courage and to
be guided in my course. . When thus asked
for, does aid fail to come? No when great
the need, such a prayer Is ever granted.
Refreshed and calmed by the 'few un
spoken words that came from a full
heart, I could look my
position calmly In the
face.
Respecting my pa
pers, I had little or no
fear. They were most
ly blinds to conceal
the real commission.
Important, no doubt, 7
tney were in a merh
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greaT holes that yawned on
every, side. The gutters were
as unfathomable "sloughs of
greasy dirt. The slimy mud
seemed to have been collecting
for years in every corner, and
had splashed against posts,
doorsteps and houses with unsparing
liberality.
A sickening combination of pigs
styeaand train oil filled the air.-Every
house reeked with evil smells. An
open door but let In a little light upon
an abyss of darkness and horror from
which the ' unaccustomed traveler
shrinks in disgust.
Tet notwithstanding such unfavor-,
able surroundings, the women of
are famed for their good looks, and occa
sionally from the mouths of some of these
dens will emerge faces and forms that
claim as much admiration as astonish
ment. When called upon to alight, I hesitated.
'Could this wretched, dirty, greasy place
be the best hotel in B 1 In respect to
dirt and darkness it seemed no whit bet
ter than its neighbors. However, there
was no choice, and it was . an agreeable
surprise on crossing the threshold to find
a very fair amount of cleanliness and
even comfort.
But this surprise was not equaled by &nd withdrew, promising to bring supper
the astonishment at the exceedingly un- immediately, and also lights.
gracious v.v - - Fattened by the Ion iournev. and
cramped in limb from confinement for so
many hours in the limited space of a rail
way carriage, I walked slowly ap and
The same light displayed to me
the pale face, the drooping lids,
the eyes so effeminate in the portrait, bat now in their reality so tiger
like in their ferocity.
feared my momentary hesitation In en
tering had produced an unfavorable Im
pression, as far from hailing a new ar
rival with the usual obsequious pleasure
exhibited by expectant hosts, the land
lady, stout and gaily dressed, made every
possible difficulty about taking me in. ,
AU the rooms, she 'said, had been be
spoken. A: great Jewish festival would
commence on the morrow. In 'short, she
catftile sense, an
their destruction
would entail consider
able money loss, but
such a loss under the
circumstances was
matter of little or
moment.
Part of my commls
sion had already been
xfMitH The nrntnl.
ecesslty that now lay.-'
upon me was to have
speech
with cer
tain per
son ages
before &
certain
day.
These
DeraonaeM wnuM h
within easy reach
before long. Wy
safety and free
dom, therefore, were
essential to the due'
completion of my
mission. The risks X
had already incurred
convinced me in
creased d 1 fflculties .
would be thrown - in
my way. But did
those dogging toy
steps know where
anH in whrim t wa
bound?
How beet to. elude
those pursuers was
now the subject of
earnest deliberation.
Absorbed In anxious
thought, I walked slowly up
and down, considering both
my task and my position.
The one window of this
room looked upon a narrow
houses were, if possible
. it i . i
any I had yet seen. ,
Suddenly a light gleamed
from one of these forbidding
and gloomy buildings. X
looked at It negligently, al
most unseelngly, so deeply
was I plunged In thought.
While gazing thus vague
ly, a bright light flashed be
fore my. eyes in a narrow.
quivering line, and in a sec
ond I was conscious that the1
brilliant stream was reflected . from the
blade of some sharp weapon. . At the same
moment a figure raised itself from a
crouching posture, the bull's-eye of a lan
tern glared full into the room I occupied,
now in total darkness, and the same light
Can it be asserted that the subtle, mag- displayed to me the pale face, the droop
netic Influence that surrounds every con- ing lids, the eyes so effeminate In the por j
clous being Is not stirred by a danger trait, but now in their reality so tigerlike
that Is gradually approaching?
The element of life Is affected, and that
down the room for some time after being sensitive, unseen essence - we call life,
left aVone, deep in anxious thought. aware by its Inward sensibility that the
Although thoroughly tired in body, my earthly portion of Its being is menaced,
senses seemed peculiarly on the alert. The warns us by the tremor of its delicate
unpleasant manner of the hostess dis- nerves that peril Is at hand,
quieted me, almost unreasonably, and Tonight this supreme dread was upon
in their ferocitv. of the man nimln.t
whom I had been warned.
' For a moment I,wa staggered. For ft'
moment I shrank back appalled, bat the
Imminence of the danger, the deftnitenesa
of the peril restored me to myself. Cour
age and resolution returned. I could think
I could act.
; That I must leave this house was Im
perative. ' Whatever the risk, X was d4