The Wee Sma' Hours
Wilkins, in his official black, was a wonderfully self-contained person;
roused from slumber in pink-rosed silk, his self-control was not so
perfect, for as he struggled out of bed again Johnson Boller caught:
"God bless my soul, officer! What----"
"Hush!" interrupted an unfamiliar, horrified voice. "Come inside quickly
and close that door."
Anthony was in motion, too. Johnson Boller, stumbling out of his
Circassian apartment, met him just entering the living-room from his own
chamber, and for an instant they stared at one another as they knotted
bathrobe cords about them.
"You see?" Johnson Boller said, with acid triumph. "I was right, eh?"
"What?"
"The cops have tracked the little devil down for his last job, whatever
that may have been, and they've found him _here_! Now you've got a nice
scandal on your hands, haven't you? A tenth-rate kid crook found hiding
in the flat of Mr. Anthony Fry, with the full knowledge and consent
of----"
"Upon my word, Johnson, I think you've lost your senses to-night!"
Anthony snapped. "Whatever is wrong, Wilkins?"
The silk-pajamaed one indicated their visitors with a hand that was none
too steady.
"It's Mr. Dodbury, the night manager, sir, and this policeman that
says----"
"I'm afraid you have a burglar in here, Mr. Fry," the manager put in
agitatedly. "I can't understand how it occurred; nothing of the kind has
ever happened to us before, and the mouth of that alley is constantly
under the eye of the firemen on that side of the boiler-room. Moreover,
there is a high gate from the street and I cannot believe that any
one----"
The burly officer halted him.
"Well, however he got there, he was on the fire-escape and coming down
when I see him from the street," he said energetically. "When he seen me
he turned into this north window and closed it after him, and my
partner'd have given me the whistle if he'd come out again. Which room
will it be, now?"
Wilkins glanced significantly at his master.
"If it's the north room on the fire-escape, sir, it must be the room
young Mr. Prentiss has to-night."
"And the burglar is supposed to have gone in there?" Anthony said
calmly.
"He ain't supposed--he went. I seen him!" stated the law. "And the
longer we stand here and talk about it, the more chance he has to kill
whoever's in there!"
"Well, as it happens, he isn't killing any one, because he isn't there,"
Mr. Fry said patiently and with just a touch of contempt. "Any one
entering that room must have wakened Mr. Prentiss, and he certainly
hasn't called for help. For that matter, I should have heard the window
myself, because I sleep very lightly. Nevertheless, if you wish, we will
go in there."
Impressively dignified even in his bathrobe, Anthony led the way down
the side corridor, with the four trailing after him. They came to the
door, and the officer pushed forward, club raised grimly over his right
shoulder as he laid his left hand on the knob.
"Where's the light-switch in there?" he whispered.
"Right by the door," Wilkins supplied.
"Duck in the second I turn the knob, throw on the light, and then dodge
along the wall," the law commanded briefly. "Are you ready?"
The invaluable one muttered his assent. The knob turned soundlessly and
the door flew open. Wilkins, with a distinctly terrified little wheeze,
pushed in, jabbed at the button, and scurried down the room on his hands
and knees, eyes shut to shield his brain from the horrible impression.
Yet there was no hint of anything horrible. With all four corners of the
room in plain sight, with the empty closet partly open and its interior
fully visible, no burglar crouched, pistol in hand--no masked malefactor
leaped forward to stun the officer with his padded lead-pipe. Only David
Prentiss was in the room, and David slumbered sweetly in the bed, the
covers pulled tight up around his young chin, a gentle dream-smile upon
his regular features.
"Well, wotter yuh know about----" the officer began.
"Hush!" Anthony said gently.
"What?"
"Don't wake the youngster!" Anthony whispered sharply. "There's no need
for that, officer. Look around if you like and then let us get out of
here."
He folded his arms and waited, while the officer, visibly puzzled, poked
about the room, and Wilkins, on his feet and smiling sheepishly,
tip-toed to the door--while the night manager of the Lasande stepped in
and looked about with a mixture of perplexity and relief, and Johnson
Boller stood and stared at the sleeping David.
"Are you quite sure it was this window, officer?" the manager asked.
"I am that, if this is the one next to the corner of the house."
"But are you quite sure that you didn't imagine it?" Anthony asked
tartly.
The policeman looked him over gravely.
"Boss, when I can see a man in black clothes staring down at me, letting
off a little howl of fright, and then turning around and going into a
window--when I can see that and it ain't there, I'll turn in my tin and
go back to the docks. The guy came in this window and----"
"Well, since it is quite evident that he didn't, he couldn't have come
in," the manager of the faultless hotel said hastily, as he caught
Anthony's expression. "You've made a mistake in the window, officer.
We'll go down and look up from the street again and see just what window
you do mean."
"But----"
"We will not bother the gentlemen further," Mr. Dodbury said firmly.
Anthony nodded.
"Show them out, Wilkins. Come, Johnson."
"Wait a second," Johnson Boller said softly, as the others filed out of
sight.
"Wait for what?"
"I want to admire this little cherub, sleeping here so soundly," Mr.
Boller muttered.
"Don't be absurd! Come and----"
This thing of losing sleep rendered Johnson Boller uglier than could
anything else in the world.
"Are they out of hearing?" he said. "All right. Somebody did close a
window in here. I heard it close!"
"When?"
"Five minutes before the last excitement," said Mr. Boller. "How many
pair of pajamas did Wilkins give this kid?"
"What? One pair, I suppose. Why?"
Johnson Boller grinned almost wickedly.
"Because there's a pajama suit under that chair and it's been worn!"
said he. "What's the kid wearing in bed there?"
He stepped forward suddenly and jerked back the covers, and Anthony
stepped forward with a sharp little exclamation, for David Prentiss,
although he seemed to slumber between the sheets, wore a suit of black
clothes and a pair of black shoes, and beside him a black felt hat was
crumpled!
"Maybe that cop wasn't the idiot he seemed, eh?" Johnson Boller asked.
"I don't understand it," Anthony said angrily. "I--David!"
The boy merely sighed in his sleep and turned on his back.
"_David!_" Johnson Boller snapped, thrusting a hard forefinger directly
into the pit of David's stomach.
"Good gracious!" gasped David Prentiss, sitting up and staring about
with eyes wide open. "What--I must have been asleep and----"
Anthony's gaze was growing keener and angrier by the second.
"Never mind that artistic amazement, David," he said sourly. "What were
you trying to do?"
"Trying?" echoed David. "To do?"
"Those are Wilkins's clothes. Where did you get them?"
"I don't know."
"Yes, you do!" Anthony snapped. "You must have found them in his room.
Well?"
David gazed up at him with the same unfathomable look that had so
disturbed Johnson Boller in the taxicab.
"Very well--I did find them in his room," he said. "I put them on
because I couldn't find my own clothes, and I--I wanted to get to
father."
"Yes, and now you're going to father!" Johnson Boller said decisively.
"Better let him go, Anthony."
David was on his feet with one swing.
"That's the only thing to do with me," he said heartily. "I'm too much
of a nuisance to keep around, Mr. Fry; I'm so worried about father that
I can't think of anything else. So now I'll go and----"
"So now you'll stay right here!" Anthony said fiercely.
"Why?" Boller asked.
"Because I've undertaken to show this kid the opportunity of his
lifetime, and I'll drive it into his infernal little skull if I have to
chloroform him and have a surgeon drill a hole to let it through!" Mr.
Fry said quite irresponsibly.
David collapsed hopelessly on the edge of the bed.
"I--I should think you'd be so out of patience with me----" he began
mournfully.
"I am, but I'm not going to drop the job on that account," Anthony said
grimly. "Shed those clothes, David."
"I'll shed 'em when you go out," David said monotonously. "I--I'd rather
undress alone."
Johnson Boller's plump hands were on his plump hips and he surveyed his
old friend darkly.
"Are you actually going to keep the youngster here against his will?" he
demanded.
"I am!" snapped Anthony Fry.
Johnson Boller swallowed his wondering rage.
"I hope you get all that's coming to you!" he said. "I hope he sues you
for a million dollars and collects every penny of it!"
And he turned and thumped out of David's chamber, down the corridor, and
into the living-room, across the living-room, and into his own
bedchamber--and there for a little he sat on the edge of the bed and
swore aloud.
Presently he heard Anthony come through from David's room, muttering to
himself; he heard the switch snap, and the streak of light under his
door vanished.
With a long, weary groan, Johnson Boller slipped back to slumberland,
and presently he was again in Montreal. It was still winter, and they
were holding a skiing contest. Beatrice was there at the top of the
slide, and beside her stood a tall, foppish youth with a little blond
mustache. He leaned very close to Beatrice as he spoke, and devoured her
beauty with his hungry eyes.
In the east the first gray light of dawn was streaking the skies.
In Anthony Fry's living-room, ever so faintly, objects just took shape
in the gloom, coming foggily out of the inky blackness that had been,
even ten minutes ago. Down the corridor a door creaked, and for a minute
or more after the creak the stillness was even more pronounced.
Then, had one been awake and listening, the softest, lightest shuffle
came from the corridor--paused--moved on again. There was a sharp intake
of breath and the almost inaudible sound of a hand feeling along the
corridor wall, feeling along and feeling along, until it touched the
curtains of the living-room.
In the wide doorway of the dusky place an indefinite, strange figure
appeared and stopped. It wore slippers, several sizes too large. It wore
a bathrobe of gray, so long that its owner held it up from the floor to
avoid tripping. It wore pajamas, too, and of these the legs were
upturned almost one foot--for they were Anthony's pajamas.
Warily the figure gazed about, squinting through the gloom for half a
minute, listening intently. Its frowzy brown head nodded then and the
bathrobed one tip-toed on, now with a definite idea of direction. Past
Anthony's door it went and past Johnson Boller's without a sound,
without a slip--stopped to listen again, and then scuffed on toward the
far corner, where stood the little telephone table.
And now, trembling, the figure settled on the stool, and shaky hands
gripped the instrument itself. The receiver went to its ear and the
figure whispered into the transmitter--trembled the harder and waited
through minutes that were hours, while from behind Johnson Boller's door
came an irregular snore and an occasional groan, as some new fiend
sought to capture Beatrice's slender hand.
Suddenly a visible shock ran through the stealthy figure at the
telephone. The trembling ceased abruptly and the figure stiffened,
leaning forward eagerly and cupping a hand about the transmitter. Thrice
it whispered shrilly, nodding desperately at the uncomprehending
instrument; and at last the listener at the other end seemed to
understand, for the figure pressed lips even closer and spoke swiftly.
A full two minutes of sharp whispering and it waited--listened and
nodded animatedly--spoke again, enunciating each word clearly and still
so softly that one across the living-room could not have heard.
Without the suggestion of a click, the receiver was returned to its
hook. The figure rose cautiously and peered all about, through the
shadows, getting its bearings once more. Again the bathrobe was gathered
high above the grotesquely slippered feet; again the figure shuffled
along, moving toward the doorway.
Without a stumble it threaded its mysterious way between chairs and
little tables, divans and cases and pedestals, until it came safely to
the corridor. There it paused for an instant, and in the gloom the
faintest, excited giggle issued from beside the curtains. Then the
corridor doorway was empty, and Johnson Boller snored on and groaned.
At the end of the corridor David Prentiss's door closed and utter
stillness rested upon the apartment again.
* * * * *
After the skiing contest, although Johnson Boller did not seem to be
present at the end, all hands trooped off to a clubhouse of some kind
and there was a general jollification. Lovely women, handsome men
grouped about a long table, and waiters rushed hither and thither,
bearing viands and wine--although mostly wine.
He of the little blond mustache sat beside Beatrice, and as the
champagne came around for the second or third time he leaped from his
chair. Glass high held, he pointed to Johnson Boller's lovely wife with
the other hand; he was beginning a toast, the temperature and intimacy
of which caused Johnson Boller's fists to clench, and--he woke with a
violent jerk and stared at the ceiling.
It was daylight--had been daylight for some time, apparently, because an
early sun was reflected from the high building on the other side of the
street. Wilkins seemed to be moving around, too, which indicated that it
was at least six o'clock.
Johnson Boller stretched and snarled; he had had a wretched night of it!
He was tired all through, as he was always tired when his rest had been
broken. He was ugly as sin, too, and almost at once he found his
ugliness focusing on young David Prentiss.
If Anthony Fry had carried his obsession over into the daylight, if he
still persisted in poking his idiotic opportunity at David and the end
of it did not seem to be in sight, Johnson Boller decided that the empty
flat on Riverside should know its master's presence hereafter
and--Boller sat up in bed, listening.
That was certainly Wilkins's voice, raised in horror--ah, and Wilkins
was hurrying, too. Or no, it couldn't be Wilkins; that was somebody a
good deal lighter, rushing along the corridor. And now the oddest babel
of voices had risen, with Wilkins thrusting in an incoherent word here
and there--and now the voices were growing fainter, all of a sudden, and
he could hear Anthony Fry stirring in the next room.
Something new had happened! Johnson Boller, swinging out of bed, jammed
his feet into his slippers and snatched up his bathrobe. Another night
like this, and he'd be ready for emergency drill with a fire company.
Not that there was any need for haste, though. By the time he had opened
the door and stepped into the living-room the little excitement seemed
to have quieted down again. Anthony, bathrobed also, was just issuing
from his bedroom, and again, for a moment, they gazed at one another.
"What was it that time?" Johnson Boller asked.
"I've no idea. Did you hear it, too?"
"Naturally. I----"
"Why, Wilkins!" Anthony Fry all but gasped, as his servitor appeared in
the doorway. "What under the sun's the matter with you?"
"My--my eye, sir!" choked the faithful one. "It's downright scandalous,
Mr. Fry!"
"What is?"
"The--the woman, sir! The woman that's come to see him!"
His jaw sagged senselessly and his blank eyes regarded his master quite
fishily; and Anthony, after a wondering second or so, scuffed over to
him and snapped:
"What's wrong with you, Wilkins? What woman came?"
"A--a young Frenchwoman, I should judge, sir," Wilkins stammered. "She
came to the door here, getting past the office I don't know how. At any
rate, she came, sir, and said some gibberish about Mr. David Prentiss,
and with that she was past me and inside, Mr. Fry."
"Where is she now?"
"Well, she--she's in his bedroom, sir!" Wilkins stated. "The young chap
came flying out like a madman, Mr. Fry, and threw his arms around her,
speaking French as I suppose. And she--she threw her arms around Mr.
Prentiss, sir, and with that they--well, they're in there now, sir."
Johnson Boller laughed unpleasantly.
"Picked off a live one, didn't you, Anthony?" said he. "There's nothing
slow about David. He comes here and settles down at midnight, and his
lady friends are calling by six the next morning. When you----"
Anthony had passed him, chin set and lips rather white.
There are some places where the questionable may be passed over quite
lightly. The Hotel Lasande is not one of these places. There are
thousands upon thousands of bachelors who would merely have grinned
interestedly at the news; Anthony, being impeccable and a genuine
woman-hater at heart, was not of these thousands. Hence, even his lean
and aristocratic cheeks were white as he rattled at the knob of David's
door.
He had expected to find it locked, and in that he was disappointed. The
door gave quite readily, admitting Anthony and Johnson Boller as
well--and for a matter of seconds they stood transfixed before the
picture.
Beyond question, the woman was there!
She was little and very dark, decidedly pretty, for that matter, and
obviously fond of David Prentiss; she sat at David's side on the edge of
the bed and her arms were about David--while young Mr. Prentiss himself
held her fast and seemed in a high state of excitement.
Even as the door opened, they had been speaking, both at the same time
and both in French, in itself rather an astonishing phenomenon; but as
the bathrobed gentlemen stopped beside them they ceased speaking. They
merely clutched each other the tighter and looked at Anthony.
"Well?" Anthony Fry said slowly, and his voice was a terrible thing to
hear.
"Well?" David said faintly.
His pretty little friend broke into a torrent of French, of which,
unfortunately, neither Anthony nor Johnson Boller could make anything at
all. David, with a long, gasping intake of his breath, muttered
something to her, and that proving futile, put a gentle hand over her
mouth. The girl, looking at Anthony, burst suddenly into loud and
hysterical weeping!
"For Heaven's sake, shut her up!" gasped the master of the apartment.
"You started her--it was the way you looked at her!" David said thickly.
"Well, you stop her or I'll wring your neck!" Anthony panted. "You can
hear that over half the house."
He turned his eye back to the unfortunate and froze her into sudden
silence. Shaking, the girl crouched closer to David Prentiss, and
Anthony drew breath once more.
It was a horrible thing that had happened, of course--this coming of a
strange woman into his apartment. It was likely to take a good deal of
explaining to the management of the Lasande, too, later on. But he had
brought it upon himself, and the realization caused Anthony's white fury
to glow.
"This--this woman is a friend of yours?" he choked.
"One of the--best friends I have!" David faltered.
"How does she come to be here?"
"I--I sent for her," David confessed. "I telephoned and----"
"All right. That's enough," Anthony Fry said, composure returning in
some degree. "Can she speak English?"
"Not one word."
"Positively," the master of the apartment said slowly, "the thing to do
is to have you both arrested, David. Don't start like that and don't
speak! There is a certain presumption that this woman is some sort of
accomplice, David--not much, perhaps, but one strong enough to hold you
until both of you had learned a lesson!"
David, himself, white to the lips, was beyond words.
"Nevertheless," Anthony pursued, only a trifle more gently, "I shall go
to no such length, because of the character of the house and the
personal reflection such a mess would cast upon myself. Tell the woman
to go, David, and then you and I will have a little chat."
"But----" David whispered.
"Tell her to go this instant!" Anthony thundered.
The boy in the oversize bathrobe looked at his girl friend with stricken
eyes--looked at Anthony for an instant, and turned away as swiftly. He
swallowed, and, lips trembling, addressed the little French girl; and
she started from him and threw out her hands in horror, pouring out a
torrent of words. David spoke again, however, and she rose, swaying.
"Show the woman to the door, Wilkins, and to the back stairs," Anthony
ordered, restraining himself with a considerable effort. "Be sure she
doesn't go near the elevators. Quick!"
David spoke again, in French and in a strange, low, forlorn wail. The
girl, as if at an eternal parting, thrust out the expressive hands once
more and gurgled hysterical Gallic snatches; and then Wilkins had laid a
hand on her shoulder, turned her about, and she was gone.
Johnson Boller looked after them and at his old friend.
"Aren't you going to send the youngster after her?" he asked with the
superior air of a man who has proved his case beyond a doubt.
"Quite possibly," Anthony said, smiling a dangerous little smile. "But I
mean to have a chat with David first."
Johnson Boller gazed at David for a moment and smiled himself, almost
happily. Unless indications were highly deceptive, Anthony, with his
precious reputation all mussed up by the pretty little French girl, was
mad enough to beat up David.
But Johnson Boller had no idea of sitting around and watching it, later
to waste days in a police court for David's wretched sake. Hence he
thumped out of David's room and back to his own.
Alone with his find, Anthony said not a word for a full minute, nor did
David. The boy, hunched on the edge of his bed, had passed the
capability of motion and even of thought; he merely stared at Anthony
with dazed, thunder-struck eyes that were very far from being
intelligent.
"David," Anthony said savagely, "however slightly unusual the
circumstances may have been, I brought you to this apartment for your
own good."
"Um," David said numbly.
"And last night I laid down for you the rule that you were to have no
women here."
David said nothing at all.
"Yet even before we've dressed this morning, you manage to worm an
infernal woman in here and--what the devil do you mean by it, anyway,
you infernal little whelp?" Anthony cried, as his temper snapped. "Don't
sit there and shiver! Answer me!"
Still David said nothing.
"Answer or I'll shake some wits into you!" Anthony cried.
And by way of doing this he seized David's thick brown hair and gave a
first, threatening shake.
And having shaken--Anthony Fry, the chilly and self-contained, emitted
one rattling, half-shrieking gasp and reeled backward!