[24] Yeast.
"The bread is generally stale, Wingie. And the coffee tastes like tepid water."
"Coffee you call it? He, he, coffee h.e.l.l. It ain"t no d.a.m.n coffee; "tnever was near coffee. It"s just bootleg, Aleck, bootleg. Know how"t"s made?"
"No."
"Well, I been three months in th" kitchen. You c"llect all the old punk that the cons dump out with their dinner pans. Only the crust"s used, see. Like as not some syph c.o.o.n spit on "t. Some"s mean enough to do"t, you know. Makes no diff, though. Orders is, cut off th" crusts an" burn "em to a good black crisp. Then you pour boiling water over it an" dump it in th" kettle, inside a bag, you know, an" throw a little dirty chic"ry in--there"s your _coffee_. I never touch th" rotten stuff. It rooins your stummick, that"s what it does, Aleck. You oughtn"t drink th"
swill."
"I don"t care if it kills me."
"Come, come, Aleck. Cheer up, old boy. You got a tough bit, I know, but don" take it so hard. Don" think of your time. Forget it. Oh, yes, you can; you jest take my word for"t. Make some friends. Think who you wan"
to see to-morrow, then try t" see "m. That"s what you wan" to do, Aleck.
It"ll keep you hustlin". Best thing for the blues, kiddie."
For a moment he pauses in his hurried whisper. The soft eyes are full of sympathy, the lips smile encouragingly. He leans the broom against the door, glances quickly around, hesitates an instant, and then deftly slips a slender, delicate hand between the bars, and gives my cheek a tender pat.
Involuntarily I step back, with the instinctive dislike of a man"s caress. Yet I would not offend my kind friend. But Wingie must have noticed my annoyance: he eyes me critically, wonderingly. Presently picking up the broom, he says with a touch of diffidence:
"You are all right, Aleck. I like you for "t. Jest wanted t" try you, see?"
"How "try me," Wingie?"
"Oh, you ain"t next? Well, you see--" he hesitates, a faint flush stealing over his prison pallor, "you see, Aleck, it"s--oh, wait till I pipe th" screw."
Poor Wingie, the ruse is too transparent to hide his embarra.s.sment. I can distinctly follow the step of the Block Captain on the upper galleries. He is the sole officer in the cell-house during church service. The unlocking of the yard door would apprise us of the entrance of a guard, before the latter could observe Wingie at my cell.
I ponder over the flimsy excuse. Why did Wingie leave me? His flushed face, the halting speech of the usually loquacious rangeman, the subterfuge employed to "sneak off,"--as he himself would characterize his hasty departure,--all seem very peculiar. What could he have meant by "trying" me? But before I have time to evolve a satisfactory explanation, I hear Wingie tiptoeing back.
"It"s all right, Aleck. They won"t come from the chapel for a good while yet."
"What did you mean by "trying" me, Wingie?"
"Oh, well," he stammers, "never min", Aleck. You are a good boy, all right. You don"t belong here, that"s what _I_ say."
"Well, I _am_ here; and the chances are I"ll die here."
"Now, don"t talk so foolish, boy. I "lowed you looked down at the mouth.
Now, don"t you fill your head with such stuff an" nonsense. Croak here, h.e.l.l! You ain"t goin" t"do nothin" of the kind. Don"t you go broodin", now. You listen t"me, Aleck, that"s your friend talkin", see? You"re so young, why, you"re just a kid. Twenty-one, ain"t you? An" talkin" about dyin"! Shame on you, shame!"
His manner is angry, but the tremor in his voice sends a ray of warmth to my heart. Impulsively I put my hand between the bars. His firm clasp a.s.sures me of returned appreciation.
"You must brace up, Aleck. Look at the lifers. You"d think they"d be black as night. Nit, my boy, the jolliest lot in th" dump. You seen old Henry? No? Well, you ought" see "im. He"s the oldest man here; in fifteen years. A lifer, an" hasn"t a friend in th" woild, but he"s happy as th" day"s long. An" you got plenty friends; true blue, too. I know you have."
"I have, Wingie. But what could they do for me?"
"How you talk, Aleck. Could do anythin". You got rich friends, I know.
You was mixed up with Frick. Well, your friends are all right, ain"t they?"
"Of course. What could they do, Wingie?"
"Get you pard"n, in two, three years may be, see? You must make a good record here."
"Oh, I don"t care for a pardon."
"Wha-a-t? You"re kiddin"."
"No, Wingie, quite seriously. I am opposed to it on principle."
"You"re sure bugs. What you talkin" "bout? Principle fiddlesticks. Want to get out o" here?"
"Of course I do."
"Well, then, quit your principle racket. What"s principle got t" do with "t? Your principle"s "gainst get-tin" out?"
"No, but against being pardoned."
"You"re beyond me, Aleck. Guess you"re joshin" me."
"Now listen, Wingie. You see, I wouldn"t apply for a pardon, because it would be asking favors from the government, and I am against it, you understand? It would be of no use, anyhow, Wingie."
"An" if you could get a pard"n for the askin", you won"t ask, Aleck.
That"s what you mean?"
"Yes."
"You"re hot stuff, Aleck. What they call you, Narchist? Hot stuff, by gosh! Can"t make you out, though. Seems daffy. Lis"n t" me, Aleck. If I was you, I"d take anythin" I could get, an" then tell "em to go t"h.e.l.l.
That"s what _I_ would do, my boy."
He looks at me quizzically, searchingly. The faint echo of the Captain"s step reaches us from a gallery on the opposite side. With a quick glance to right and left, Wingie leans over toward the door. His mouth between the bars, he whispers very low:
"Principles opposed to a get-a-way, Aleck?"
The sudden question bewilders me. The instinct of liberty, my revolutionary spirit, the misery of my existence, all flame into being, rousing a wild, tumultuous beating of my heart, pervading my whole being with hope, intense to the point of pain. I remain silent. Is it safe to trust him? He seems kind and sympathetic--
"You may trust me, Aleck," Wingie whispers, as if reading my thoughts.
"I"m your friend."
"Yes, Wingie, I believe you. My principles are not opposed to an escape.
I have been thinking about it, but so far--"
"S-sh! Easy. Walls have ears."
"Any chance here, Wingie?"
"Well, it"s a d.a.m.n tough dump, this "ere is; but there"s many a star in heaven, Aleck, an" you may have a lucky one. Hasn"t been a get-a-way here since Paddy McGraw sneaked over th" roof, that"s--lemme see, six, seven years ago, "bout."