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Show blue of his eyes. "No," he tid (Illicitly, down nt his golf-ball, "J didn't know It." ".Must have been a grand guy to get himself jailed In New York," Hal said to Kerrigan. "Just a big crime-baby," said Kerrigan Ker-rigan In quiet preoccupation. Crack's quiet persistence insinuated insinu-ated even when he was silent rec-cognlzed rec-cognlzed no linality at the table. In a moment, "Say," he said to Hal, "it'd be fun to lay over more'n one night in some of these towns to 'iRD HOFFMANN :'. 1 .V RICHARD HOFFMANN W.N.U. SERVICE get acquainted, comln' up the road tonight, It looked like there was talent here." "Guess you could find any amount of it here or anywhere else," said Hal tastelessly, "if you felt like it." Crack's Immature, faintly smiling lips were undecided between embarrassment embar-rassment and assurance. lie had the air of making remarks not so much for the direct reply as for the indirect reaction. "You" he said insecurely, hopefully, "it don't seem like you felt like It very much." Hal gave him an honest, impersonal imper-sonal look and said n.itlv. "I don't " that unsubstantial whisper of premonition pre-monition somewhere near again: Hal cursed it, and the Interruption that left him there alone with It. l'.ehlnd the screen the doorlalch clicked and (here was a moment of silence. Then without surprise or pleasure, Kerrigan's voice said. "Why, hello there, Splash"; and he came back Into the room looking gloomily thoughtful. Martin Crack ambled after him, his smooth skinned face under tidy hair barely stirred by the slight unassuming smile. "Sit down, sit down," Kerrigan grumbled at him. Crack's light-blue eyes sought IIal'9 hopeful, It might have seemed, of some sign of pleasure, though not counting on it. Hal wondered won-dered again why, under their lazy hopelessness, the eyes should seem to know something that gave them faintly mischievous amusement, seemed also to weigh the possibility possibil-ity of Hal's knowing what It was. "Ill, there," said Hal, nodding: there was always something stopped his being quite civil to this quiet, narrow little fella. "Happened to see you come down here," Crack said, addressing him self to Hal without hurry, "and thought y'wouldn't care If I came." He paused, as if on the chance Hal would say It was all right. Then he turned to Kerrigan, less amiably. "After you're through this round. I'll buy one." "Nice of you," said Kerrigan, "but we've got thia bottle between us. Welcome to help yourself." "Oh," said Crack. "Well, thanks. XIaybe just a little one." And here It was spoiled between Hal and Kerrigan; Hal's rising heart turned dully toward bottom again, toward the fretful confusions that hedged and tripped and badgered bad-gered his longing for Barry and the wonder of her straight, golden loveliness. He could have escaped through Kerrigan for the time: but now there was only the bourbon, and he knew beforehand it wouldn't be any good to him. They went back, with a pretense of relish, to items in the day's journey. jour-ney. Crack sat unobtrusively enough, sipping his drink as If it were some not unpalatable medicine, medi-cine, half attentive to what was stiff, resentful drink and venting lis beleaguered gloom on whatever lis companion chose to talk about. L?ut just in walking beside him, Kerrigan's Ker-rigan's air of unacquisitlve well-iciiig, well-iciiig, of confidence in the propriety :o his soul of anything that might happen, brought Hal's hopes a little iway from the dominion of bafflement baffle-ment and left his uneasy brooding to wait. They went up the street. Down 1 half-respectable alley with a wrecking car and some stacks of aid tires In It, they came to a door that had "Office" printed on the lark glass; and Kerrigan knocked Driskly. A crack opened, revealing bright light on unstirred layers of tobacco smoke beyond a screen, and a dim strip of face that held one steady eye. "Pete here?" said Kerrigan. "No." "Like to see where he works," said Kerrigan. "He don't work nights." "Frisby sent us. I've got his penny." The strip of face vanished and the door swung wider. They sat down at a table, and a dark, competent young man waited without speaking. Kerrigan turned to him pleasantly. "What's the bourbon bour-bon sitchation?" he said. There was no particular In which you could have said the young man's expression expres-sion yielded to Kerrigan's friendly ease, yet it did change; and he said, "We got some stuff here In Kentucky bottles, but you wouldn't call it bourbon." Kerrigan looked at Hal. "Rye, then?" he said. "Fine," said Hal. Kerrigan looked up and said, "Rye." The young man stood there watching watch-ing Kerrigan steadily; he said, "Want some bourbon?" "Bourbon?" said Kerrigan, with just the right mixture of Interest and Incredulity. "Half a minute," the young man said crisply and disappeared through a door beside the bar. "Now there you are," said Hal sincerely. "If I lived to be a hundred, hun-dred, I'd never have the gift. Here it Is fifteen minutes after you decide de-cide you want a drink in a strange town, and you not only get It, but get something special, almost without with-out asking for It. I need lessons." The young man came back with a veteran bottle, three-quarters full. Kerrigan read the stained label reverently while they waited for glasses and water. It was bourbon, bour-bon, and not of this decade either; and even before they tasted It they had tacitly acknowledged that this Even as he turned to Kerrigan, he knew Crack's speculation was still lazily upon him. But then Kerrigan's Kerri-gan's expression was different; he was watching Crack with a severe vigilance that seemed outright inimical. inim-ical. Hal looked back quickly, to see what It was; the uncertain smile hadn't altered much; there was only reticent mischief in it again for his saying, "I guess maybe you got other oth-er things on your mind." Hal barely heard the remark. "Nothing on my mind," he said, "except "ex-cept to make five hundred miles tomorrow." to-morrow." He glanced at his watch. "Late, Colonel," he added to Kerrigan. Kerri-gan. Kerrigan was still watching Crack as If he'd seen him tuck an ace up his sleeve. "You don't think maybe " Crack began with diffident care: "you don't think maybe you'd feel different dif-ferent if they wasn't somebody that's" "Button It up, slipstream," said Kerrigan. "What?" said Crack, startled. "I know what you're going to say," said Kerrigan quietly; "you button it." Crack closed his fist loosely round the golf-ball, flushed again, swallowed swal-lowed slowly, and blinked once or twice as if his eyes stung. "I wasn't talking to you," he said, his voice cracking once, warmed out of shift-lessness. shift-lessness. "You might's well keep out of my business." "If It was your business," said Kerrigan, his voice firm and too quiet, "I'd keep out of it surely . . . Plug your exhaust, splash, hear?" Moisture appeared round the new Intensity of Crack's eyes, and blushing blush-ing besieged the roots of his straight, mouse-colored hair. "Keep out of," he suddenly recited re-cited on a warning rise of tone. "Keep out of my business, you dang old drunk." Hal, starting to his feet, had one astonished glimpse of Kerrigan's face older, less ruddy, gravely compliant, com-pliant, essentially inattentive to Crack's venom. Hal's chair bouncing bounc-ing over backward made Crack whip round and rise all in one startled star-tled motion, as If he had forgotten Hal was there. He was stumbling away sldewise before he'd well caught his balance, his golf-ball on the jump over the floor, as Hal went for him. Then the feel of his throat was between Hal's thumbs, fingers overlapped at the back, and It was SYNOPSIS j V . his Mther's bitter critl- , $x Vd,e life, a" the notin- , t: ,:heneed not expect any i, .,Bcial assistance Hal 1 ' "s0n o( a wealthy bank- ! '..clt practically without , 3 :-"h (he promise of a sit-13 sit-13 :,n Francisco, which he " - from New York, within i H " limit- He takes pas- , AJ : cross-country auto par--- n expense" basis. Four ?rl -unions are a young-, at-l at-l .' Carry Trafford; middle- ! rkrrisan; Sister Anasta- , I: Md an Individual whom I ---ively dislikes, Martin I .,v's reticence annoys him. I 1. he takes at once. Hal ( I Lck, but his intimacy .,jn ripens, and he makes . I. . ress with Barry. Es-I Es-I reminiscences, she learns I I Wn of the wealthy Fred- , I .."j Through a misunder- , I. --at night, Hal is directed I ."room, instead of his own. , ,eems to soften Barry's I friendliness, and they I -'isses. The following day , I rj'rry he loves her. She I Irs that she mustn't love J it giving any reason. Liter V Continued I n't have to tell me any-, any-, I d Hal, shocked by the 1 -i im that was trying to rob 4 ;J -3 time he had so surely J 1 ' I : "all yu have to do is , 1 ' ' x to the things I must anil mm can rest, listening to ( .. I -:iip there, a little way, by ' Mt' We'll sit against a tree, Mtal-.yon want me to stop, I'll ' 1 -on can sleep on my shoul-m' shoul-m' -aise, If you tell me to, .1 ''J 4 again not a word, not rj0', J -' kPs on running and 'tetV,:iiiall my nerves, muscles, iti-i vjue, everything: I love X; you so that " Is ,i a't, oh, don't, please, Hal Her free hand gripped his 1!, and he couldn't tell 771; shook to enforce what Altl ir whether the despera-ili despera-ili shivered under her voice m h body, too. 'gjjjr ;aid Hal In severe quiet. J.t to listen. Why do you .-urself? Why do you try ( j,l -3 me before you've let rediull " ,ng iirbmation was a whimper e ik'.J ii she turned her frantic acitirdthe cabin. "Sister An- yjl"r!r opened on the neat, allnj m ' raw boards, with e.J' silhouette In the oblong. can't if-?"" she said, her modest .Iter ihnil and soothing. tof Just wanted to know toe. I'm coming now. 7TJ7J :'rne.'' She bowed her "T'to see more clearly the ;AH'Mr hands In the dim- 1 f J "Ight, my darling," she ply. "I'm a coward a I U-l-U I'm so sorry." ;itt, ti ;(r hand away from him, jar Cc'i .'' 8he was at the nun's 1 ! lighted doorway. luirm'i'-l ' t ion," said Kerrigan, and ;m0 : cigarette end In the iwrfl'lils m0uth i00ked short ',,! rl'tom him, "I'll bet you 1 11 Id to town we could D, E" -pUtlng would knock us Jonrhats.n -T N we couldn't," said IslatJ I 'Slf, the echo of Itaspu-e3 Itaspu-e3 l'f -toning in his ears again. tii!oa two somethings we r nut'1 J M.W!W" 8(11(1 Kerrigan, ereli rwaIk?" Mi 1313 Hal. "Ifs not far." I ' the fact that he had T"' he felt the soft, Im- ;hin("r Wreshnient under the built las to him as If, out of fnrt i;T'r"3 wlth s"11 ex-, ex-, e1 ;nentled Pleasure -ly(i out for traffic with -7 V.y complication. Put b" si i -1 er of wrls. it was all .' he loved Barry; ;,r!Aevery l00k' every at the least' """'TuL v So there they I f1 he- " she wasn't 'X 8he eo"ld tell K, l"3 a "we definite nJt rcon,InS to him, It fo b' fcfaced' and-lf not 'hie R?rcuented-the R?rcuented-the J -., 1 e- BftTy was can-lant- J:,, ' as honorable as her D''j K "the b1y. were !tf fli Tenable com-' com-' ':t ": eir the restlve 1 - J 'r and remembered 1.,h"nhlng Impend- aPleHtorUtlMenied t0 Pr0wl ' va'!;;i ;a 6 future- vanish B "t Us he l0ked war- ht started out with DurPoSe of getting a the best thing he ever remembered having in his hands. His teeth tried to push one another back Into their aching roots for that moment of fine squeezing. Somebody careened hard against him from the side and an arm, like the loop of a jerked hawser at his midriff, swung him away, ripping off his hold. The dark, certain young man from behind the bar stood close beside him, watching watch-ing him pant through his open mouth as If he'd had fifteen minutes' min-utes' hard wrestling. "Listen, friend," said the young bartender, quiet, unsolicltous, unre-sentful; unre-sentful; "kill him outside, will you?" Hal, looking at him, grew steady at once, without surrendering a single good fragment of his hate. The young man's hand was spread on Hal's moving chest. 'Colonel," said Hal in smoldering steadiness, "if It'll do your experience-museum any good to watch me, I'll be glad to kill him." 'Brother, listen," the young man went on surely, "we got a little business here, see? And It won't help It none to have bodies on the premises. I want you to kill him all right, If you wanta; but some place else, friend, hey? Some place else." "All right," said Hal. "Let me talk to him." The bartender's hand came down, and Hal walked toward Crack. "You'll apologize," he said. He heard Kerrigan breathing beside be-side him; he was sorry to make him stand listening to this. (TO BE CONTINUED) "I Bet You Know Broadway Pretty Well Livin' In N'York." said, half concerned with his own drowsy speculations. Then in n pause, without stirring himself, he said to Hal, "I bet you know Broadway Broad-way pretty well livin' In N'York." "There's a couple of other things to do In New York, you know," said Hal, looking at him briefly. The ' Inviting smile stayed on Crack's fair-skinned face and in his youthfully knowing eyes; the golf-ball was motionless under his finger. "But If you want good-lookln' babes and a good time, Broadway's a pretty good place to get 'em," he said. "I've heard It was," said Hal, and felt a hypocrite. Kerrigan drew breath to speak, but Crack watching. Hal ignored him, saying, "Did you ever go to a place called the Wrong Door?" "No," said Hal dully; and made himself add, "What's that?" "Well, it's sort of a" "A joint on West Fifty-third street," Kerrigan interrupted, with a short nod. "You a friend of Jed Silver's?" Crack's smile was modest, his eyes uncertain, as If he'd been paid a compliment he didn't deserve. He barely glanced at Kerrigan, at his golf-ball, then shyly at Hal as he said : "Well, I sorta know Jed. He's sorta nice to me sometimes, when I'm In N'York." "See him this last trip?" Kerrigan Kerri-gan asked in perfunctory interest. That pleased Crack sufficiently so that he turned his Indolent smile to Kerrigan. "Yeah," he said. "Was Up there talkin' with him an' all coupla nights before we started." He turned back to Hal. "He's got a" Without triumph Kerrigan Interrupted Inter-rupted him again: "Cuess you didn't know they raided his place In June, stripped the fixtures out, and put Silver on ice to wait for his ran and not only for dry-law violation either." Crack flushed, and a sharp res-Uveness res-Uveness stood caged in the drowsy time was ripe lor something more than a nightcap. Kerrigan hooked a chair toward him with his toe and swung his feet up on It before he said, on a relaxed key, "It's a good trip: and there's more of It coming to us yet" "Hope not more of it only," said Hal. "There's a toast no bourbon's too good for," Kerrigan said quickly, almost al-most as if there were something a little foolish about saying It. "A good trip," he went on, "In spite of something funny, something queer going on that " He stopped as Hal's look promptly sharpened. "Maybe you know all about it," he said. "I don't know a thing about it," said Hal, "but every so often it gives me a scunner, makes me feel something might be going to happen." hap-pen." "Y'know," Kerrigan began, watching watch-ing the young bartender pass to answer a knock at the door, "we had gifts once, a couple of ten-thousand ten-thousand years ago, when we were roaring around Middle Europe In bearskins, looking out for ourselves and making darn few mistakes we had gifts then that have got good and rusty since. Sometimes we get some use out of 'em in hunchea, intuitions; sometimes one of those rusty gadgets will get contact try to do Its job and our civilized, so-called so-called minds can't make out what that bumping Is In the cellar; It makes us uncomfortable. If you could harness that, even without understanding It" The bartender came to their table ta-ble and leaned his hands on It, looking down at Its ring-stained surface. sur-face. "There's somebody wants In," he said. "Says he knows you two." He looked at Kerrigan. Kerrigan glanced at Hal In dubious dubi-ous expectancy, then up at the young man again. "Don't know anybody any-body here," he said, giving his head a shake that was not quite final. "No. Tell him he's made a mistake; or wait,.. I'll look at hi in." He dropped his feet and heaved himself up reluctantly. Just talking about it had brought |