He passed on slowly down the
stairs and out into the night, and paused upon the top of the steps
leading to the street. Below him lay the avenue with its double line
of lights stretching off in two long perspectives. The lamps of
hundreds of cabs and carriages flashed as they advanced toward him and
shone for a moment at the turnings of the cross-streets, and from
either side came the ceaseless rush and murmur, and over all hung the
strange mystery that covers a great city at night. Latimer's rooms lay
to the south, but he stood looking toward a spot to the north with a
reckless, harassed look in his face that had not been there for many
months. He stood so for a minute, and then gave a short shrug of
disgust at his momentary doubt and ran quickly down the steps. "No,"
he said, "if it were for a month, yes; but it is to be for many years,
many more long years." And turning his back resolutely to the north he
went slowly home.
THE TRAILER FOR ROOM NO. 8
The "trailer" for the green-goods men who rented room No. 8 in Case's
tenement had had no work to do for the last few days, and was cursing
his luck in consequence.
He was entirely too young to curse, but he had never been told so,
and, indeed, so imperfect had his training been that he had never been
told not to do anything as long as it pleased him to do it and made
existence any more bearable.
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