Marching Men

n Lake Street. He was a man who, even in the days of his great crudeness, appealed strongly to the mating instinct in wo

nd thought only of advancement in the warehouse and of study in his room at night. Now and

the same spirit in which he had walked in the Pennsylvania hills. He was striving to get a hold of some elusive quality in life that seemed to be forever out of reach. He did not want to

t and then turned restlessly back. On the sidewalks along Canal Street he saw strong-bodied men loitering before cheap lodging houses. Their clothing was filthy with long wear and there was no light of determination in their faces. I

e drifting clouds of people of all nations that wander at night in Halstead Street and turning into a side street s

ee if with the strength of his arm he could shake mankind out of its sloth. A drunken man passed and following him came a large man with a pipe in his mouth. The large man did not walk with a

emed to personify all of the things against which his soul was in revolt

ad rolled away into the darkness. McGregor stood on the sidewalk and waited. A crowd of men standing before a tenement house started to run toward him. Again

rned back. McGregor walked on, his heart heavy with the sense of defeat. He was a little sorry for the man he had str

room stretching his great body like a lion returned from the kill and thought of the little black-bearded barber in the room at the end of the hall stooping over his violin, his mind busy with the attempt to justify himself because he would not face one of life'

ith a desire to go forth and explore the city. The quiet of the house, the distant rumble of street cars, the sound of a band playing far down the street disturbed and div

er came in. In his hand he held two tick

ians to buy dance tickets. "They cost two dollars each," he cried and shook with laughter "You should have seen my boss squirm. He didn't want the tickets but was afraid not to take them. The politician could make trouble for him and he knew it. You see we make a hand-book on the races in the shop and that i

urged McGregor to go with him to the dance. "We will make a night of it," he said. "We will see women there-two that I know. They live upstairs over

his body. "We shall see about this," he said, "we shall see if this is another wrong trai

the adventure had been a failure. The swing of the dance music struck no answering chord in him. He saw the couples on the floor clasped in each other's

conversation inane and trivial. It skirted the edge of things and ran off

k beard shone against her white dress. The two women sat beside him and talked. McGregor gathered that the frail woman was

her woman away. From across the

reek. A feeling of intimacy with her came over him. He felt as he had felt concerning the tall pale girl of Coal