"Begging!" said Michael aghast. His eyes were on his plate and he was trying to control his voice, but something of his horror crept into his tones. Sam felt it and hastened on apologetically--
"Er ef you want to go it one better, keep on yer good cloes an" have the asthma bad. I know a feller what"ll teach you how, an" sell you the whistles to put in yer mouth. You"ve no notion how it works. You just go around in the subbubs tellin" thet you"ve only been out of the "orspittal two days an" you walked all this way to get work an" couldn"t get it, an"
you want five cents to get back--see? Why, I know a feller--course he"s been at it fer years an" he has his regular beats--folks don"t seem to remember--and be can work the ground over "bout once in six months er so, and he"s made"s high"s thirty-eight dollars in a day at asthma work."
Sam paused triumphant to see what effect the statement had on his friend, but Michael"s face was toward his coffee cup.
"Seems sort of small business for a man!" he said at last, his voice steady with control. "Don"t believe I"d be good at that? Haven"t you got something that"s real _work_?"
Sam"s eyes narrowed.
"Ef I thought you was up to it," he murmured. "You"d be great with that angel face o" yourn. n.o.body"d ever suspect you. You could wear them clo"es too. But it"s work all right, an" mighty resky. Ef I thought you was up to it--" He continued to look keenly at Michael, and Michael, with innate instinct felt his heart beat in discouraged thumps. What new deviltry was Sam about to propose?
"You used to be game all right!" murmured Sam interrogatively. "You never used to scare easy--"
"Wal, I"ll tell you," in answer to Michael"s questioning eyes which searched his little sharp wizened face--Michael was wondering if there was anything in that face to redeem it from utter repulsiveness.
"You see it"s a reg"ler business, an" you hev to learn, but I"d give you pinters, all you"d need to know, I"m pretty slick myself. There"s tools to open things, an" you hev to be ready to "xplain how you come thur an" jolly up a parlor maid per"aps. It"s easy to hev made a mistake in the house, er be a gas man er a plumber wot the boss sent up to look at the pipes. But night work"s best pay after you get onto things. Thur"s houses where you ken lay your han"s on things goin" into the thousands an" lots ov um easy to get rid of without anybody findin" out. There"s Buck he used to be great at it. He taught all the gang. The day he lit out he bagged a bit o" gla.s.s wuth tree tousand dollars, "sides a whole handful of fivers an" tens wot he found lyin" on a dressin" table pretty as you please. Buck he were a slick one at it. He"d be pleased to know you"d took up the work--"
Sam paused and eyed Michael with the first friendly gleam he had shown in his eyes, and Michael, with his heart in a tumult of varied emotions, and the quick color flooding brow and cheek, tried to hold himself in check. He must not speak too hastily. Perhaps he had not understood Sam"s meaning.
"Where is Buck?" Michael looked Sam straight in the eye. The small pupils seemed to contract and shut out even his gaze.
"They ain"t never got a trace of Buck," he said evasively.
"But don"t you know?" There was something in Michael"s look that demanded an answer.
"I might an" I might not," responded Sam sullenly.
Michael was still for several seconds watching Sam; each trying to understand the other.
"Do you think he will come hack where I can see him?" he asked at length.
"He might, an" he might not. "t depends. Ef you was in th" bizness he might. It"s hard to say. "t depends."
Michael watched Sam again thoughtfully.
"Tell me more about the business," he said at last, his lips compressed, his brows drawn down into a frown of intensity.
"Thur ain"t much, more t"tell," said Sam, still sullen. "I ain"t sure you"re up to it?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"Ain"t sure you got de sand. You might turn faint and snitch." Sam leaned forward and spoke in low rapid sentences. "Wen we"d got a big haul, "sposen you"d got into de house an" done de pinchin", and we got the stuff safe hid, an" you got tuk up? Would you snitch? Er would you take your pill like a man? That"s what I"d want to be sure. Mikky would a" stood by the gang, but you--you"ve had a edicashun! They might go soft at college. I ain"t much use fer edicated persons myself. But I"ll give you a show ef you promise stiff not to snitch. We"ve got a big game on to-night up on Madison Avenue, an" we"re a man short. Dere"s dough in it if we make it go all right. Rich man. Girl goin" out to a party to-night. She"s goin" to wear some dimons wurth a penny. Hed it in de paper. Brung "em home from de bank this mornin". One o" de gang watched de feller come out o" de bank. It"s all straight so fur. It"s a pretty big haul to let you in de first try, an"
you"ll hev to run all de risks; but ef you show you"re game we"ll make it a bargain."
Michael held himself tensely and fought the desire to choke the fellow before him; tried to remember that he was the same Sam who had once divided a crust with him, and whom he had come to help; reflected that he might have been as bad himself if he had never been taken from the terrible environment of the slums and shown a better way; knew that if he for one fraction of a second showed his horror at the evil plot, or made any attempt to stop it all hope of reaching Sam, or Buck, or any of the others was at an end; and with it all hope of finding any stray links of his own past history. Besides, though honor was strong in him and he would never "snitch" on his companions, it would certainly be better to find out as much as possible about the scheme. There might be other ways besides "snitching" of stopping such things. Then suddenly his heart almost stopped beating, Madison Avenue! Sam had said Madison Avenue, and a girl! What if it were Starr"s jewels they were planning to take. He knew very little about such matters save what he had read. It did not occur to him that Starr was not yet "out" in society; that she would be too young to wear costly jewels and have her costume put in the paper. He only knew that his heart was throbbing again painfully, and that the fellow before him seemed too vile to live longer on the same earth with Starr, little, beautiful, exquisite Starr.
He was quite still when Sam had finished; his face was white with emotion and his eyes were blazing blue flames when he raised them to look at Sam.
Then he became aware that his answer was awaited.
"Sam, do you mean _burglary_?" He tried to keep his voice low and steady as he spoke but he felt as if he had shouted the last word. The restaurant was almost empty now, and the waiters had retired behind the scenes amid a clatter of dishes.
"That"s about as pretty a word as you can call it, I guess," said Sam, drawing back with a snarl as he saw the light in Michael"s eyes.
Michael looked him through for an instant, and if a glance can burn then surely Sam"s little soul shrank scorching into itself, but it was so brief that the brain which was only keen to things of the earth had not a.n.a.lyzed it. Michael dropped his glance to the table again, and began playing with his spoon and trying to get calm with a deep breath as he used to when he knew a hard spot in a ball game was coming.
"Well, why don"t you speak? You "fraid?" It was said with a sneer that a devil from the pit might have given.
Then Michael sat up calmly. His heart was beating steadily now and he was facing his adversary.
"No! I"m not afraid, Sam, if there were any good reason for going, but you know I never could feel comfortable in getting my living off somebody else.
It doesn"t seem fair to the other fellow. You see they"ve got a right to the things they own and I haven"t; and because I might be smart enough to catch them napping and sneak away with what they prize doesn"t make it right either. Now that girl probably thinks a lot of her diamonds, you see, and it doesn"t seem quite the manly thing for a big strong fellow like me to get them away from her, does it? Of course you may think differently, but I believe I"d rather do some good hard work that would keep my muscles in trim, than to live off some one else. There"s a kind of pretty gray moss that grows where I went to college. It floats along a little seed blown in the air first and lodges on the limb of a tree and begins to fasten itself into the bark, and grow and grow and suck life from the big tree. It doesn"t seem much at first, and it seems as if the big tree might spare enough juice to the little moss. But wait a few years and see what happens.
The moss grows and drapes itself in great long festoons all over that tree and by and by the first thing you know that tree has lost all its green leaves and stands up here stark and dead with nothing on its bare branches but that old gray moss which has to die too because it has nothing to live on any longer. It never learned to gather any juice for itself. They call the moss a parasite. I couldn"t be a human parasite, Sam. You may feel differently about it, but I couldn"t. I really couldn"t."
Michael"s eyes had grown dreamy and lost their fire as he remembered the dear South land, and dead sentinel pines with their waving gray festoons against the ever blue sky. As he talked he saw the whole great out-of-doors again where he had wandered now so many years free and happy; free from burdens of humanity which were pressing him now so sorely. A great longing to fly back to it all, to get away from the sorrow and the degradation and the shame which seemed pressing so hard upon him, filled his heart, leaped into his eyes, caught and fascinated the attention of the listening Sam, who understood very little of the peroration. He had never heard of a parasite. He did not know he had always been a human parasite. He was merely astonished and a trifle fascinated by the pa.s.sion and appeal in Michael"s face as he spoke.
"Gosh!" he said in a tone almost of admiration. "Gosh! Is that wot edicashun done fer you?"
"Perhaps," said Michael pleasantly, "though I rather think, Sam, that I always felt a bit that way, I just didn"t know how to say it."
"Wal, you allus was queer!" muttered Sam half apologetically. "I couldn"t see it that way myself, as you say, but o" course it"s your fun"ral! Ef you kin scratch up enough grub bein" a tree, why that"s your own lookout. Moss is good "nough fer me fer de present."
Michael beamed his wonderful smile on Sam and answered: "Perhaps you"ll see it my way some day, Sam, and then we can get a job together!"
There was so much comraderie in the tone, and so much dazzling brilliancy in the smile that Sam forgot to be sullen.
"Wal, mebbe," he chuckled, "but I don"t see no edicashun comin" my way dis late day, so I guess I"ll git along de way I be."
"It isn"t too late yet, Sam. There"s more than one way of getting an education. It doesn"t always come through college."
After a little more talk in which Sam promised to find out if there was any way for Michael to visit Jim in his temporary retirement from the law-abiding world, and Michael promised to visit Sam in the alley again at an appointed time, the two separated.
Then Michael went forth to reconnoitre and to guard the house of Endicott.
With no thought of any personal danger, Michael laid his plans. Before sundown, he was on hand, having considered all visible and invisible means of ingress to the house. He watched from a suitable distance all who came and went. He saw Mr. Endicott come home. He waited till the evening drew near when a luxurious limousine stopped before the door; a.s.sured himself that only Mrs. Endicott had gone out. A little later Mr. Endicott also left the house. Starr had not gone out. He felt that he had double need to watch now as she was there alone with only the servants.
Up and down he walked. No one pa.s.sed the Endicott house unwatched by him.
None came forth or went in of whom he did not take careful notice.
The evening pa.s.sed, and the master and mistress of the house returned. One by one the lights went out. Even in the servants" rooms all was dark at last. The night deepened and the stars thickened overhead.
The policeman"s whistle sounded through the quiet streets and the city seemed at last to be sinking into a brief repose. It was long past midnight, and still Michael kept up his patrol. Up this side of the street, down that, around the corner, through the alley at the back where "de kids"
had stood in silent respect uncovered toward his window years ago; back to the avenue again, and on around. With his cheery whistle and his steady ringing step he awakened no suspicion even when he came near to a policeman; and besides, no lurkers of the dark would steal out while he was so noisily in the neighborhood.
And so he watched the night through, till the morning broke and sunshine flooded the; window of the room where Starr, unconscious of his vigil, lay a-sleeping.
Busy milk wagons were making their rounds, and sleepy workmen with dinner pails slung over their arms were striding to their day"s work through the cool of the morning, as Michael turned his steps toward his lodging. Broad morning was upon them and deeds of darkness could be no more. The night was pa.s.sed. Nothing had happened. Starr was safe. He went home and to sleep well pleased. He might not companion with her, but it was his privilege to guard her from unsuspected evils. That was one joy that could not be taken from him by the taint that was upon him. Perhaps his being a child of the slums might yet prove to be a help to guard her life from harm.