The Coming of Bill

between him and the things of this world. Commonplaceobjects lost their character and be

same hopes and fear and wonder. Once heencountered a prosperous looking individual moving, like a liner amongtugs, in the midst of no fewer than six offspring.

k him the time at thatmoment, or indeed addressed

m. Ruth's unvarying cheerfulness was to himalmost uncanny. None of the doubts and fears which blackened his lifeappeared to touch her. Once he confided these to

ife Kirk knew what fearreally meant. All that he had experienced till now had, he saw, been amild apprehension, no

emptation to stupefy himself wi

him. He seemed destined tobe of no help to Rut

had notbeen at her side. And now, when she was fighting for her li

er seeing Ruth to ask him to telephone to Mrs. Porter. Inhis overwrought state, this

rry and a sandwich before going upstairs. She putforward the lame excuse that she had not d

ing food at this moment stru

t. In a short while fea

d been sent out, so he wentinto the little kitchen, where he found eggs, which he mixed with milkand swallowed.

rowling the studio a

ced him upon himself and caused him topass his character under review, with strange and unsatisfactoryresults. He had never realised before what a curiously contemptib

le doctor came quietly down

e. "When did you have anything to eatlast?""I don't know. I had some eggs and milk. I don't know when."The d

eep it?"After the first few mouthfuls Kirk ate wolfishly. The doctor munched asandwich wit

ighball won't hurt you." He eyed Kirk with some sympathy. "It's a badtime for you, of course.""For _me_? Good God!""You want to keep your nerve. Nothing awful is going to happen.""If only ther

may be. You don'twant to appear looking as if you had been run over by an automobileafter a night out. You want your appeara

ter a few puffshe replaced it in his pocket. It seemed too callous to think of smokingnow. The doctor was a good fellow, but h

airs? He strained his ear

lf-criticism returned. Hehad sunk once more into

ery gently. He went to

in and see how things were

heart leaped at thesight of him. It was as if he had

Steve sidled into the studio, embar

something. Another minute and they'd have pinched me onsuspicion. I just felt I had to come and see how Miss Ruth was makingout.""The doctor was down h

hell," s

what he wanted. The doctormeant well, bu

ink, Steve. I expect you ne

briefly. And there

I mean. I've helped her throw thatmedicine-ball--oft

in the studio now. In the streetoutside a heavy waggon rumbled part.

said. But the singing ce

walk quickly up and down.

. "You'll be all in if youkeep on worrying abo

vered himself quickly, ashamed of theoutburst. "I'm sorry, Steve. Don't mind anything I say. It's awful

took it just like you. Found he was gettingall worked up by having to hang around and do nothing,

dad did. 'Gee!' he saysto himself, 'I believe the way I'm feeling, I could just go and eat upthat gink right away.' And the more he thought of it, the better itlooked to him, so all o

barkeep and about fifty other fellers throws themout, and they goes off to a vacant lot to finish the thing. And dad'sso worked up that he gives the other gu

und or two with the smallgloves, just to get thi

it eased him mighty g

d. Just try to think I'm some guy that's been pickingon you and let me have it. See wh

to themselves in a lowerdrawer. It was not often that Kirk used them in his friendly bouts withSteve. For ordinary occasions the larger and more padded species metwith his approval. Steve, during these daily sparring encounters, wasamiability it

d looking as if hewas suffering from mumps, owing to a

rk felt that even a repetition of

be consolatory in wordas well as deed. He kept up

tain't often you hear of anything going wrong at times like this. You

swing at the body which

s true,"

e a little breathlessly

warily roun

ded. He guessed correctly that the other was alluding to hislast speech, not t

derfully friendly toward Steve, so grateful for his presence, andhis sympathy, that it had been hard, in spite of the other'sadmonitions, t

entioned above, that he ceasedto be an individual with private troubles and a wandering mind, andbecame a

e success of his treatment. It had worked even more quickly than hehad ho

hem, began to feel a slightdiminution of his detached attitude toward this encounter. Till now hisposition had been purely that of the kindly physician soothing apatient. The rapid

t him with some violence against the wall; and fromthat moment nature asserted itself. A cur

me Steve did not slip; he went to

one who bears weighty news. Her determined face waspale and tired, as it had every r

nfield,"

Looking about her, she

range, shuffling sound. She listened, astonished. She heard a gasp,then cur

Mrs. Porter. She opened

. A lesser person, after a far less tiring ordeal than she hadpassed through,

hatfreely, but this he appeared to consider a trifle unworthy of seriousattention. On the floor, an even more disturbing spectacle, Kirk

"It's nothing serious.""Has Mr. Winfield fainted?""Not exactly fainted, ma'am. It's like this. He'd got me clear up in acorner, and I seen it's up to me if I don't want to be knocked throughthe wall, so I has to cros

. I see he's all worked up, sitting around doingnothing except wait, so I makes him come and spar a round to take hismind off

fellow down our street, and itdone him a lo

our common sense isastonishing. I have no doubt you saved Mr. Winfield from a nervousbreak-down. Would you be ki