"I hope you are very correct in your surmise," re-plied Bridge. "But even so I'm not taking any chances."

o o o

Willie Case had been taken to Payson to testify be-fore the coroner's jury investigating the death of Giova'sfather, and with the dollar which The 0skaloosa Kidhad given him in the afternoon burning inside his pocket hadproceeded to indulge in an orgy of dissipation the mo-ment that he had been freed from the inquest. Icecream, red pop, peanuts, candy, and soda water mayhave diminished his appetite but not his pride and self-satisfaction as he sat alone and by evening for the firsttime in a public eating place. Willie was now a man ofthe world, a bon vivant, as he ordered ham and eggsfrom the pretty waitress of The Elite Restaurant onBroadway; but at heart he was not cheerful for never be-fore had he realized what a great proportion of his anat-omy was made up of arms and feet. As he glancedfearfully at the former, silhouetted against the black ofthe table cloth, he flushed scarlet, assured as he was thatthe waitress who had just turned away toward thekitchen with his order was convulsed with laughterand that every other eye in the establishment was gluedupon him. To assume an air of nonchalance and therebyimpress and disarm his critics Willie reached for a tooth-pick in the little glass holder near the center of the ta-ble and upset the sugar bowl. Immediately Williesnatched back the offending arm and glared ferociouslyat the ceiling. He could feel the roots of his hair beingconsumed in the heat of his skin. A quick side glancethat required all his will power to consummate showedhim that no one appeared to have noticed his faux pasand Willie was again sluggyly returning to normal whenthe proprietor of the restaurant came up from close behindand asked him to remove his hat.

Never had Willie Case spent so frightful a half houras that within the brilliant interior of The Elite Restau-rant. Twenty-three minutes of this eternity was con-sumed in waiting for his order to be served and sevenminutes in disposing of the meal and paying his check. Willie's method of eating was in itself a sermon onefficiency--there was no lost motion--no waste of time. He placed his mouth within two inches of his plateafter cutting his ham and eggs into pieces of a size thatwould permit each mouthful to enter without wedging;then he mixed his mashed potatoes in with the resultand working his knife and fork alternately with bewild-ering rapidity shot a continuous stream of food into hisgaping maw.