TITE SUNDAY BEE: OMAHA, OCTOBER 8, 1922
The World Outside
By Harold AJacCJrath
(CMllae rraa rf Thr.)
ire, I ho contract would have awak
ened hT, Ui wave would have
eriuihtxl, and all her better Instinct
would have rushed up to overwhelm
tha vague horror that later wa to
wait upon her eutwtantlully. Hut
Craig a If wnetratlng I ho pyrho
logy with which th girl wa be
muaed merely took hrr c-old hund
In til anil kissed them.
"Theater, theater!" railed Jenny,
from the font of the at lira.
On the return to tho thefar
Nuncy laughed at every comment
Jenny offered, ami not all these
offering wre comic; at toast ml
to Jerwnlah. who tlila tilclit do.
tennlned lo take hla t me In alng
alley. What had Craig wM to
her. upstalra Ultra, that mad ber
ao happy? 1l hnied with til Ma
amil, that tha eeller of adventures
wouM strike tnnlaht, send a tor
nado or an avalncha out of tha
first alley. Nothing Imt extreme
physical -xertlon would serve to
mitigate Ilia twilgnmt niiwry swell
ing and contorting bin heort. Ho
tlila wis love!
A rtozi tlmee ha wa on the
point of Inventing eomo excuse to
hnlt tha aedan ami leuvo It; hut
ha wan shackled not only hy com
mon isilltenes hut ly th reluc
tance to louva Nancy practically
alone, wllh Ornlg. Somehow Jminy
did count, somehow she 'would
never count again for pinning him
ao ti ll Wily to tha phonograph. Had
Jenny eonie understanding with
Craig? Tha notion filled lilm with
bristling anger. lo hud read of
audi tblnire tha fnlso woman
friend, HMII, ha hail no authority
fir auch a suspicion; und iu hi
grudgingly admitted thl fnct,
shame superseded hla unger. No;
f Jenny w bad, then them with
no court women. Her action might
hnvo been mlHchluvoua rather than
premeditate' It wan Just his own
eontnnkornii mood.
Seven millions! Ruirposlng ho
flung thnt at them, ami proved It?
Why. ho could probably huy nnd
aell Crulg, aa they wild In tha
atreet. Hut thura wn onn thing
ha never would do and hla spine
stiffened at the thought and Unit
whh, huy a wtfo. fa- be looked
back, ho liegnn to percclvo tho real
notion In hla hiding under an aa
an rued name; ho wanted to lie, hived
for himself alone, not for what he
could Iwat ow In worldly goods.
And hero alio ant, at hla elbow,
hy tho Irony of the gods, hud ho
hut known It. Poor Jenny! who
would have followed him to moun
tain topo ur down to dink ithyw'!
lie ntlht and probably would hftve
felt extremely aorry for her, lint he
would not havo offered her liinr
rlufo lieeauao ha who Horry. The
phynlcal In wnnuin wna and alwaya
would he attracted -flrat hy Hie
jewela; then ho would lake, notice
of tho CHNket. Denied Ihoae In
connequentliil aerlea of love affair
thnt n thick mnit youths and ren
der them love rynlca Ix-foro they
aro 20, Jereinlnh'a lovo for jNaney
wna a complcta thlriK, nliUlimj. Hi
the mlaery whleh waa hla whm e
man'a, not a callow ynuth'a.
The queer little eddlca and wtilil
poolH Kolmc on In that amoothly
rollliiK Bedttn! the mutlnlea and
perveraitlea of three of thono four
mlndat Even CralK. hla lntollnct
acuaoncd by oliaervation and rxpor
lence, hud a vanuo aeiiaation of
moving forward on a aluck wiro.
Noncy had iflven him her proiniHO,
and knowing her aa ho did, lie knew
ahe would atund by that promlao;
and that bad to content htm for
the t lino. What would alio have
done had he taken her In hlH anna
and klaaed her? Why hadn't he?
After auch a promlao, why hud n't
h klaaed her? Of coume, alio did
not love him. lie waa no fool. She
wna merely attracted by hla varl
tlea; hut ao long aa ahe loved no
other mnn, there waa hope that love
would come to hur when she learned
how much he waa Riving both In
heart und purna,
At the Htune eniram-e he held her
hand fur a moment, amiled. and let
her ko. II wuntid her nlonu, hut
that wna not poMaihlo, with half the
company flowlntr In through the
HlaK door,
"We hud a grand time, Mr.
Ci-nlK." Jenny declared villi only
half a lie. "A renl TliankaKivIn'
dinner!"
"Makea me happy to her you kh
o." t'ralif turned to l'.nneroft.
"Anv particular ilai-e yuu'd like to
be dropped, Mr. t'ollimr-iwood?"
"No, thanka. I'm KtUns i JoR
around a bit. 1 want to thank you
for your Mudm-aa." he lil. Jere
miah waa brcomlliK acimJ'llhrd
In thia convention. i:vtIh1v
Imt; they had lit, or fisht. What
would you? Jeremiah could mrf y
to l"ral -"lour tuiky rhek-d ie,
your tiout aoHithervil mo, and I
-iim'd to u!" aa lie would have
llke.1
t'rai tied, te. hoi ratvkwwly .
"I am i. bad lb t lovix to
offrr It "
He bad lm (wiriluUr fai f thla
, lm MOorhtlW a . ulv
rnl im,t. bm .r.i k v
a good deal of time on hla hand
for a younjf chap flghtum the
world. Where la the middle aK-d
man who doee not undeniMtUnato
youth and my fur It?
After tho aoooud a t Jenny ran to
Nancy' dieaalnir room and waa ad
mitted. Neither appeared In the
oiienlnf. Junny waa aa full of qura
tlona aa a cheat uut la of aturch.
Nancy' laua-hter had deerle her,
too, Hh wanted lo know alia waa
"dyinit" to know what had taken
place between Nancy and Crultf,
u put u Ira. Hut for once aha found
heranlf healtunt, that alio could not
put the queatlon direct; probably
becauae hrr Intureat waa not un
aeiriah. KUII, if anythlnir had really
hapiMoied, Nuny, who waa ae
oretlve, would have ruahwd Into her,
Jenny'a arrna, find off.
Which Nancy mada no effort to
do. Hho ai urrely looked around, gre
lendlnir that aianethln wua the
matter with the makeup of an eye
brow, over which ahe fiddle raddled
until Jenny had to leave.
"Hay, did y' ever ea auch a
huuae," la-Kan Jenny. "I'll tell the
world! Iordrt' be rich Ilka that!
l'lral lime I ever had a butler tod
dle around my chair. Hut, oh, did
you pi tie hla fix? I bet he waa Ixirn
on lb' atepa o' Grant' tomb. Th'
aunt waa rcg-'lur. My! hut did you
iiotii-a th' emernlda? An' Jeremiah!
I,ud! Never mlaaed a fork, an'
looked 'a If he'd had a thnuamid
butlera In hla younic life, An' be
wmm't (oiiKuetled, either, I wn,
thotiKh. I waa actually afruld o'
th' butler! Plum pudditi', wltn real
brandy aiiuce. An' not a drop l'
drink! Ha know you don't like
It."
Nancy peered Into tho ulawa r.rit-
lertlly.
"Whero'a Mnn Koo?"
"I had lo leave home. Not much
for him lo Klve thank for alone
nil day," an Id Nancy, atlll with her
Ktm foctiaed upon the atra.lKe face
In the mirror.
"We're Roln'
wlndup at th'
t' have a Krand
. Olai ldtfo. Conio
nlontf."
"Tmi tired."
"A little aupper by your two'
ainiio?" Which waa oa near aa Jen
ny ftot to the utterance of the teal
iiionton.
"I urn going atmlght homo, Jen
ny alono."
"Hoen a great day for a oouplu
blrda who expected nothln' better
than the rorner beoncry. Well, th'
mualo haa Mopped. I'll have to
itkedaddlo. See you laterj'
"flood nlKht, Jenny!" with a
audden yeamlnfr to run Into Jenny'
arm, none kinder in all thl world;
but ahe dared not, fearing tho con
anquenccfl. Outaldo tho door Jitnuy vpnuaed.
Yellow; Jenny Malloy wua yellow;
Hho hadn't the nerve to auk Nancy
Htral;ht-out if anything had hap
pened. Maybe nothing had hap
pened. If unythlng had, Nancy
Wouldn't have acted ao cooly about
It. Jenny proceeded to tho wing
und walled for her cue, Hho bcuurt
to hum a few llnoa from the vcracH
she would soon be alnglnff
We are human manikins
Ixilla for ladles to udinlro. . ,
The wave of perversity to carry
on the IHuhIoii was beginning to
make in Nancy's cara certain oml
noua little sounds. Hut her chin
waa atlll projected at if fly and de
fiantly. It wua at the end of the
lierformiuiee, in her dreaaing room,
where ahe had neither mental or
physical diversion with which to
dyke the tlood, that it fell, craahing,
thundering, Btnotherlng. Instantly
ahe saw herself for what she was,
a deapicable creature! . . . For hlH
money! She did not care for him
In the least: Just his money! , . ,
And ahe must hurt him, a man who
Tiad never harmed her, who offered
her an houoruhlo contract, who had
shown her many little kindnesses.
, . . Oh, she was ua K-ise and
vile . .
No. Tho pnychology of her mood
too many backyards, too many
I'lotheHliuea, too much hard work
and not enough play, too much
thinking; a vast blind anger against
fa to, which ahe could not ruch,
and ao must vent her anger upon
something upon herself equally as
upon Craig, the Innocent Bystander,
.she must rind him and tell him at
once,
The perversity which had driven
her Into thla inorasa now reversed
ita enerriea and became animated
terror. To get out, now. tonight!
There was something of tha r'ui i s
in her BuluMqut-ut actii With
part of her makeup atill on, she
ib w out of the drmuuug room and
down the corridor lo the dourkecp
er'a cubbyhole,
"Have you seen Mr. fralg?"
hruth!ridy,
"No, Mis llowman. Ain't e-o
him te'iuil.t "
ht turned and ran bak, rruaavd
the Un and kuotked uuii Maine
hrlm'a ibw-. The toaiiAfcer hliiiwlf
answered aomtuon. TUe big
rirv of h T, the pin. bed hoa
ttila, the NJo it4lui4 i he a, and
lb-t dtul-ed, tho tnnt.i'a i. br
Uty, imiiutlMlely vKvel to him
that alio wita Ulwiuta uiWi iw
eitraorillnary excitement.
"What la tho matter?" ho auk id.
Where la Mr. da g?"
"Why, hm wax out lit front with
hi aunt. II didn't coma back.
Anything I can do"
"I ... I Wanted to eu him."
Never had she known audi ehame,
"Come In and alt down while I
telephone hla house," Mannheim
knew that (ialg had taken Ida
aunt by auto to her country plana
and would Mnd the night there;
but he wanted to give the girl a
chance to recover her poia.
Nancy eat down, her finger
tensely locked. Mannheim gave
her a worried glanoe aa he tiaik up
the telephono. Boinlblng hud hap
ienml between this girl and Craig,
during the dinner or after. Ho
lengthened hla talk with tho Craig
butler; anything to give her time.
Finally he set down the telephone.
"Craig haa gone with hla aunt
for the night. Want to leave a
note? I'll have a boy carry it
around to hla home."
"No. I thought If ha were here I
might catch him. Thank you," tihe
roae.
"KupisjMliig 1 kind out for a cup
of coffee? You look done In."
"I want nolhlng," and aho depart
id, cloning the door.
What the deuce had huppenod?
Homcthliig serious, to have given
her that tragic i-xpresMion. Mann
heii.l was uneasy. He made a step
aa though to go after her, but re
considered, lie wondered if any
thing . , . oh, pshaw! Craig
waa a thorough geiilleimin. The
glii wua having one of those tem
porary brcakdwwna with which he
waa tolerably familiar, Phe would
be all right tomorrow.
To see Craig now, while nhe was
hot with shame; to confesa aho
hadn't meant It; to uhk him to for
give her, while oil her best Instincts
were in force, before her courage
receded! Tomorrow the shame
would bo there, but It would be ft
cold und horrible thing. There was
only one way to recover her self
respect, and that wag to face him.
To write him would be cowardly,
and he did not deserve "such treat
ment. Hut tomorrow, In -the cold
daylight! What a vile thing she
wns!
She never recollected how she
Mnlshed taking off the make up or
how she reached the atreet. Hhn
started over her uwuul route to the
elevated, blindly almost; and after
a while became aware thut name
one was keeping step with her, and
she looked to see who It wa.
"Jerry?"
"I thought mnybe you'd like com
pany to the elevated," said Jere
miah. He had found hla alleys
for ho had deliberately sought them
empty of anything suggesting bat
tle, murder, and sudden death, and
had returned to the theater, having
nowhere else to go, Home waa out
of the question, at least for A time;
for hla pillow would offer him noth
ing but unbroken thought. On the
streets there would be varying in
terest to dlHtract him. But where
was Craig?
"Are you going anywhere?" sho
asked.
"No."
"Thrn come homo with mo. Hut
don't talk, Jerry; I'm dead tired."
Jeremiah! She was glad to aee
him, He would be a tower of
strength thla night. Ilia presence
would hold her together until she
gained her room. A boy, with age
old wisdom on his lips, who had the
gift of sllencef that is, he always
knew when she wanted to talk and
when she didn't. Taught by the
silent fields and woods. What
would he say if he knew how base
a thing fhe wns? . . . For
money!
The world grew a little blighter
to him for that "Jerry." He drew
her arm through his and patted
her hand, quite brotherly; and with
a thrill perhaps of melancholy or
igin felt her arm tighten.
Tho seller of adventures, having
followed them from the theater, did
not pursue them as they climbed
the elevated Ration steps. He was
content. This would be the girl
when the time came. He laughed
and turned away. Jeremiah would
find another knlfo, thia time imbed
ded In the Inner Jamb of the door
Itank theatricality; but the point
was to keep the boy in a constant
.Hate of expectation, until the real
trap could be sprung, )iHing
of the Holivlan Kmerakl company
waa not an easy task: money was
tight, Meantime, Jeremlutl must be
amused. Ktewart burst Into laugh
ter again, his cheeks wrinkled ear
dumt-ally.
Nancy begun to count the adver
tising signa in the Mr. the peoplu,
the electric sign In the air, the
mimlier of I aided window on the
level with the rails, nut ail um-oni-nkn
way of ftrbtlng an Insistent
thought. Hhe waa fairly auccetisful;
but Intermittently ahe heard the
oar whevla murmur; Toluol row,
t.iiiN'rrow, tomorrow! The day of
t honing.
Oik her arithmetic waa lnlr
runted by a Itwuglil winch more or
lea translated tttta mw"
imaa. Kef ore Daddy How man')
death ahe hud never bvn subject to
IiunmIs ao violently perverse in char
acter. Hho knew now she had Imped
against hope that, fearing he might
! her, he wo holding back the
truth until hla death: who aha waa,
who her parent were. A box of
Jaipur enameled hraaa and a little
gidd chain, no more evidential than
a bhule of straw: a foundling, with
no hnjw at all of ever being any
thing viae. And atop of thla, to
learn that her ambition waa boot
less! Her bittemesa had thl day
culminated In a cold rage ago nst
a mocking fate and she had flung
herself into hi abyss! Ilut the solu
tion of her nuMal In no wise miti
gated the appalling shame that
burned In her heart.
At each station Ji counted the
people who got out and those who
got In. Khe awltched to a tooth
paste advertisement on the station
platform, and followed thla down
town. . . , Tomorrow, tomor
row, tomorrow! Khe must send for
Craig and tell him, In cold blood.
I'erhupa ahe could make him under
stand, If tho explanation took place
In her own room, with the dingy
back yards and the clotheslines bur
dened with soggy flannels, the Jai
pur box, and th wreck of her dream
, . . Two three four; she went
on with her counting.
From time to time Jeremiah atolo
a glance ut her. Kho hsiked pale
and careworn, uml there waa a
droop to her mouth. Frequently
ho saw her Hps move and won
dered what the words were, (tihe
was counting.) Two thltiga were
evident. Craig had not appeared
at the stage entrance, nnd Nancy
wua unhappy about something. And
yet she had come down those stairs
ut Craig's, her eyes glowing, her
face marked .by cntranecrnent.
Iiy nnd by he reached down and
tapned her bond which were fold
ed listlessly In her lap. He rose.
"Homo," ho said, putting a amllo,
to It.
"We aro there?" her flrat apoken
word since getting on the train.
"Yes. How about a cup of cof
fee?" he augegHted.
"I want to go to sleep, Jerry, If
I can."
"All right."
Aa they atai-ted down tho station
stairs, ho drew her arm through
his again, but there was no pres
sure from hers. Together they modo
the street. A desire shot Into his
blood and took possession of him
before he could repel it. . . . To
klsa her as he had kissed Jenny!
But this act wast not on the knees
of the gods. There was a dark
alley in between. He was half way
past this alley, when he heard a
scutter of feet, and understood In
stantly what was about to happen.
"Kun, Nioicy! nun!" he cried.
Iiefore he could set himself to do
battle, the avalanche of human be
ings fell upon him.
Nancy then witnessed one of
those Instances of which she had
often read but never dreomt of see
ing. During the initial phase she
looked upon the scene aa she would
have looked upon an interesting
picture in an art dealer's window.
Four men, with gray patches for
faces, swarmed over Jeremiah and
obliberated him temporarily. Al
most Immediately there came an
upheaval, and Jeremiah stood free.
He waa the reincarnation of that
amiable ruffian whom we know as
AJax, who challenged all Troy dally
to come out of its walls and fight
him. Homer doesn't mention this so
particularly, supposing, no doubt,
that it would be understood. -Jeremiahmeaning
the Lord's exalted
fought becauae his soul and body
demanded it for all he had suffered
that day. lie had no other notion.
It wasn't to protect his lady or his
wallet In which were several thou
sand dollars and a sprinkling of
emeralds. No; it was the lust of
buttle, the pride of flesh, in an in
stant he went back several thou
sand yeara. The plop of his fist in
a face or against a chest was to
him what the thump of the tym
panies 1 to a symphony orchestra
the basic color.
The men, weaving and waving
over him, presently brought him
down once more: but again he bore
up and through, laying about lustily.
Whenever he saw the right open
ing, he let go hia boot effectively.
There were no rules to thia com
but, no chivalry; kill or he killed.
Ho could have puvcrized any two
of these unmanly rats but four!
One of hla eyea was tioalng, hia
llpa were pulp, hla nose was bleed
ing, and there was a dagger-like
hurt In the snail! rib. Hut he waa
giving mark for mark, hurt for
hurt.
It wa when, for a second. Nancy
saw hi face, bloody and twittered,
In the street light which hung ob
liquely from the alley that she came
out of her hypiioxi. h rubd
Into the ineb-e aa a tlgrraa after
her whtip. With furious haflda she
fceiie.t one of tha ru Diana by th
eolUr and drui.rd him l-aik. When
b miw tb.it i 't,i " woman, he
marled hx-hil. m e h.r a boTet
on the i,..i'ti ',' '-.ilTd and
stunned her. The male animal will
not fight the female of the smi-i;
but there are mule human whu
bku nothing better than to pummel
the aoft flesh of a woman.
Th blow did not take the "i;ht
out of Nancy, Imt It made her rert
aonnblo. tihe turned and run dlxxily
down the street for help. 8h never
thought to cry out. That was on
of the peculiar pbaaee of thla bat
tle against odds; there were no
aounds above the panting lungs, the
thud of buffet and the acurtling of
feet.
A the Homeric enthusiasm began,
to oo.o out of him nnd civilisation
edged It way back, Jerry found
hlmanit sorely put to- keep from
going down for th third time,
which he gueased would lie the
lust. Ko now the notion came to
him to take to hi hm-ls; but It
came too late. A hluckjack des
cended upon hla skull; and after a
singular constellation, not to he
found upon any chart left by Cop
ernicus, a aoothing velvet bluckuesa
took all Jerry' pain and trouble
away.
Around the first corner Nancy
sighted help in the form of a po
liceman. They are frequently found
In New York when you need them.
Hut the discouraging fact la this:
they are skeptical beyond belief
after midnight, A thousand false
alarm to contend with: wif-ibeat-era,
husband beaters, heighborhood
rows, children' squabbles air bub
bles. The cry of Murder no longer
thrills; generally it Is some woman
trlek to avoid a beating. Bo when
Nancy rushed toward hirn, dishe
velled, he dhl not greet her with
enthusiasm: her appearance had ail
the earmarks of the old stuff.
"Quick!" she cried. "They are
killing him!"
"Who?" asked the policeman, am
iably. Here was a pretty young
woman, for uli thut her hut wa
hang-ng over uu ear and a little
trickle of blood was x gzogging
down her chin. A row with her
"steady"; wanted him locked up to
night, and tomorrow she'd be tour
ing at the bars to get him out.
Now Nancy was still boiling with
fury, und it overflowed at the sight
ot the pol.ceman'a lack of profes
sional interest. She caught him
by tho sleeve.
"You blockhead! I'm telling yoll
thut bandits ore killing my enoort.
, . Killing him!"
"Where?"
"The alley!"
"Hhow me!" still skeptical.
She turned and raced to the cor
ner, tho officer hard upon her heels,
his automatic In hand. Ninth street
was empty.
"Well," ho suld, nlowing up,
"Where's this war o' yours? I
don't see anything."
But she flew on ahead. When she
reached the alley sho dropped to
her knees. The policeman, recon
sidering his flippant dlugnoslB, scut
tered up Just aa Nancy raised Jcre-,
miuh'a bloody head In her arms.
"O, Jerry, Jerry!" sho cried,
breaking into hysterical sobs: which
It was now chronologically proper
that she should.
The policeman opened the bloody
shlrtfront and felt of the victim'
heart.
"Four of 'cm, huh? Just my
damn luck lo be a few minute
late."
"Is be dead?"
"Not yet. His heart' going.
I'm aorry, false, I didn't dojio it
right: but even then I'd a' ln-en
too late. Why didn't you yell?"
"I . . . didn't think of it. I
tried to help him, but I waan't of
any use."
"You waded In?"
"And one of the beujH struck
me on the mouth. The poor boy!
... to defend me!" What's the
odds, ao long as she never learned
the truth? that she mistook AJax
for MeneUiua?
The policeman searched the vic
tim, but his practiced hand found
nothing but a keyring. The crooks
had cleaned the boy thoroughly.
Blackjack, too. Waded In, eh?
Women if they were worth any
thinggenerally waded In for those
they hived. They might pummel
their lords nnd masters, but they
would not permit anybody rise.
"Did he carry any valuables?"
"I don't know," she answered,
rocking slightly.
"Well, stay with lilm until I send
in a call for the ambulance."
"No. no! We both live in that
house there, with the marble steps.
Ml help you. A surgeon lives next
door, and he'll be home now."
The policeman thought It over.
Probably the chap would get proper
care more quickly if the girl ha
her way. "All right. I can handle
him alone, if you'll rive me a boost
when I any ao. There' hi hat.
You take It." Treaently he awunc
Jeremiah' dead weight Into a eel
entitle allng. "8bow me the way,
m'sa. How many flight?"
"One flight up."
"r'lne!"
' We'll put him In my roum un
til the doctor decidee. But, ee
hurry! If he should die!