Page 111 - Adventure Magazine, 1921, July 18th

106 Adventure

She sat up, smiling, and in a tone of pleas- feel an angry flush to see. a big boy rob a
antry added: small one of a candy stick; and thou gh
"But there are times when I could kill those are not emotions that make aton e-
you. For one thing, Don Everhard you ment they are human, and should do some-
are so stupid! Yes, stupid. S-t-u-p-i-d. thing to show that crime and evilness are
tupid." kinks and quirks of brams much like your
Her manner changed slightly) became own rather than the work of inhumane, un-
earnest-or seemingly so-and she pointed natural people. . . . .
her hand at me. I have had some fam1banty with crooks
"Now listen again. You don't know any and such· and though I never reformed any-
more about women than a wooden doll. body, or tried to, I believe that a very large
Not so much. Baby girls do play with percentage of them could have been made
wooden dolls. And if you think for one into respectable, perhaps mdeed mto dis-
mmute that the distressed damsel hates you tinguished citizens, if given some work that
really hates you, and she has made you sure would afford them excitement, draw on their
of it-Don, don t waste a minute, but go resourcefulness and ingenuity, and use up
nght out and buy a solitaire. It doesn't their enormous nervous energy-with which
have to be a big one either. She'll be glad all successful crooks are filled. This pana-
to get it." cea of mine may not, however, apply to such
11 of which was nonsense; and I told her as have for deep and obscured personal rea-
so. sons been embittered; as, for instance, there
The Lord forgot . to put in balance-wheels were times when I felt that Hazel Guigane
when He made women. They can't reason was getting a sort of cruel satisfaction-to
as straight as a snake can crawl. They go her, very much like revenge-out of seeing
round like a pin-wheel and think they are people who used opium made into pitiful
getting some place. I am a man of pa- wrecks.
tience. There weren't any women among Even she had her brood of orphans, and I
the delegation that called on Job, but as it don't think it so very fanciful to suppose
was, his patience was worn out. that sometimes there were maybe a tear or
two on the letters from those thankful little
I STARTED out of the door. She waifs whom she had never seen, and never
jumped up and caught my arm; and would see.
when I said that I had been serious,
and that though I had as much humor as SOME impertinent person ha told
anybody needed I did not offer myself me that ,I make a very profu se use
twice tobe laughed at, she laughed. of the first person, singular and per-
Then she did show some real indignation pendicular; which I thought a rather clever
at the idea of a girl, a white girl, being sold and original sneer until I discovered that
to a man and such a man as Sin Chang; and the impertinent person had got it out ofa
.
'
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she made me think that she was smcere m book.
begging that I would let her know what It is as easy to be clever as rich if we help
was going on, and give her a chance to do ourselves to other people's wealth· and if I
anything that was needed. So 1t was that do make a "profuse" us of the first person
at heart Madame Guigane seemed quite as singular and "perpendicular," it i about the
human as I had always thoug t she would only thing in the world I have th right to
be. talk about as I wish and to tell whatever
I know that it would be getting myself pleases me; and if I am accused of being
into a muddle to try to explain why one so conceited I canonly reply that I am not
callously engaged in so viciously evil a busi- without a certain prid in th fact that I
ness should be credited with any humane - never hn.v hid b hind anybody's coat- tail
ness of heart-but that is one of the com- whether the tail of that coatbelonged to a
plexities, not of women alone, but of hu- policcmnn or to a friend; and I object to the
man nature. The murderer may weep statement that I am hard to' understand "
when his little canary dies; the mother who for 1 am nothing of th kind. '
has strangled her children may break into There are veryfew p pl in th world
tears at the withering of a hyacinth in her against whom I have ever felt any personal
cell; the highwayman will likely enough anger, any more than l ever f lt personall