The Girl and the Bill: An American Story of Mystery, Romance and AdventureMerwin, Bannister
General
The Girl and the Bill: An American Story of Mystery, Romance and Adventure
Merwin, Bannister
Adventure stories; Chicago (Ill.) -- Fiction; Love stories; Mystery fiction; Spy stories
"Judging from the bandage, it must have been a nasty crack," continued
the conductor. "But you wouldn't know he'd been hurt from his face. Say,
you can't tell anything about those Johns from their looks, can you,
now?"
"You certainly can't," replied Orme.
The conductor glanced out. "There's the elevated," he said. "I'll have to
go in and wake that drunk. He gets off here."
Orme watched the conductor go to the man who was sleeping in the corner
and shake him. The man nodded his head vaguely, and settled back into
slumber. Through the open door came the conductor's voice: "Wake
up!"--Shake--"You get off here!"--Shake--"Wake up, there!" But the man
would not awaken.
Maku was sitting but a few feet from the sleeping man. He had not
appeared to notice what was going on, but now, just as the conductor
seemed about to appeal to the motorman for help, the little Japanese slid
along the seat and said to the conductor: "I wake him."
The conductor stared, and scratched his head. "If you can," he remarked,
"it's more'n I can do."
Maku did not answer, but putting his hand behind the sleeping man's back,
found some sensitive vertebra. With a yell, the man awoke and leaped to
his feet. The conductor seized him by the arm and led him to the
platform.
The car was already slowing down, but without waiting for it to stop, the
fellow launched himself into the night, being preserved from falling by
the god of alcohol, and stumbled away toward the sidewalk.
"Did you see the Jap?" exclaimed the conductor. "Stuck a pin into him,
that's what he did."
"Oh, I guess not," laughed Orme. "He touched his spine, that was all."
The car stopped. The spectacled passenger with the portfolio arose and
got off by way of the front platform. Would Maku also take the elevated?
If he did, unless he also got off the front platform, Orme would have to
act quickly to keep out of sight.
But Maku made no move. He had returned to his former position, and only
the trace of an elusive smile on his lips showed that he had not
forgotten the incident in which he had just taken part. Meantime Orme had
maintained his partial concealment, and though Maku had turned his head
when he went to the conductor's help, he had not appeared to glance
toward the back platform.
The conductor rang the bell, and the car started forward again with its
two passengers--Maku within, Orme without--the pursuer and the pursued.
"I thought the motorman and I was going to have to chuck that chap off,"
commented the conductor. "If the Jap hadn't stuck a pin into him----"
"I don't think it was a pin. The Japanese know where to touch you so that
it will hurt."
"An' I didn't even like to rub the fellow's ears for fear of hurtin' him.
I heard of a man that was made deaf that way. Smashed his ear-drums."
"I wonder where the Jap will get off?" said Orme.
"Oh, he'll go right through to the barns and take a Clark Street car.
There's a lot of them Japs lives over that way. He'll be one of 'em, I
guess."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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