OCR Text |
Show THE NEXT DAY He awokes with the usual headache head-ache and a black sense of impending impend-ing disaster. Drink always left him sour but this sick depression was unwonted. What had brought it about? Cogitation at first proved unfruitful. He had spent the evening with Billy Mages, which always meant rows and rioting, but they never got into serious trouble, and Billy would stick by a pal like a good follow, stick till the crack o' doom. Billy had leen with him all night or had he? Forth life of him Jim couldn't remember. Of the evening's close ho could recall nothing. He had but a vague, faint Impression of fighting desperately with some one, of getting tho upper hand, of rushing through a door his own bedroom door, surely! and bolting it hurriedly behind him. After that Ho turnedl heavily, on the bed, and Lhere, sure enough, was the door loading load-ing Into his sittingroom not only bolt-ed bolt-ed but barricaded with all the movable LU1UII.U1U Ul LUO 1UUU1. His half smile faded before a flood of harrowing recollection It was Billy with whom he had had that desperate des-perate encounter; Billy, who lay still and stark behind the bolted door! |