The Riddle and the Ring; or, Won by NerveMacLaren, Gordon
General
The Riddle and the Ring; or, Won by Nerve
MacLaren, Gordon
Adventure stories; Detective and mystery stories; Dime novels; New York (N.Y.) -- Fiction
It was not until he had reached Broadway that Lawrence remembered his
failure to turn over the latchkey before leaving the miserable lodgings
for good. For a moment he hesitated, wondering whether he ought to go
back. Then he remembered the extra money he had given the woman, and
the small cost of a new key.
"She can get another for a quarter," he murmured. "Besides, I simply
couldn’t go back there now. I wonder I was able to stand the old
harridan as long as I did."
Dismissing the matter from his mind, he turned down Broadway, and a few
minutes later entered the big clothing store of Butler & Bloss.
"I wish to look at some fur-lined coats," he said quietly to the
gray-haired man who stepped up to him.
Whatever surprise the latter may have felt at this request from a man
wearing no overcoat at all, and a thinnish suit, at that, none showed in
his face. Besides looking the gentleman, Barry had an undeniable air
about him which commanded respect. No doubt he might have stepped in
from some near-by building without stopping to put on his overcoat. At
any rate, the customer had the appearance of one used to instant
consideration, so a salesman was summoned without delay, and Barry was
committed to his care.
Lawrence had decided that about five hundred dollars of the expense sum
should be reserved for hotel, restaurants, and incidentals. The
remainder, therefore, was left to be spent on his wardrobe, for he had
determined to carry out the conditions of the strange bargain to the
very letter.
For a full hour he was busy in the various departments of Butler &
Bloss, and though in that time he ran up a bill of close on to four
hundred dollars, the fur-lined coat was his only extravagance. Even
that was not expensive, as such things go, but he had been so cold for
so many days that he could not resist the handsome garment, with its
luxurious lining and wide collar of unplucked otter.
In addition to this, he bought another, lighter overcoat, of soft dark
cheviot, two sack suits, and a Tuxedo. There were also, of course,
several pairs of shoes necessary, shirts of various sorts, collars,
neckties, underwear, gloves, and a quantity of various odds and ends,
which added materially to the total of the bill. When he had paid it,
and ordered the things delivered at the St. Albans before six o’clock,
he slipped into the fur coat, drew on a new pair of gloves, and went out
into the street.
There he did not hesitate an instant, but made a bee line for the
nearest Broadway restaurant. The interest and excitement of spending
money after such a long deprivation had kept him from realizing how
ravenously hungry he was, but at the first lull the fact smote him with
renewed force.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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