He came, quite unexpectedly, upon “The Ferret.” It was in a little underground restaurant where the walls were of imitation stone and all the dishes of a curious Dutch pattern.
So much absorbed was “The Ferret” in something a youth about Johnny’s age was saying that he did not notice Johnny at once. When at last he did see him he sprang to his feet with an exclamation3.
191
“What a lucky meeting! Let me introduce my—” He broke off abruptly4, appeared quite confused, then ended rather lamely5, “Well—er—a friend who is very much one of us. He has, you might say, a burning desire to be of some service to his city.”
Johnny scarcely needed to be told that this youth was consumed by some great desire. He could read it in the two smouldering coals of fire that were his eyes. Indeed, as he recalled the meeting later and tried to summon a mental picture of this new-found friend, he could visualize6 only a pair of glowing eyes, that was all.
Johnny was invited to join them at their evening meal. What was said during that half hour Johnny does not recall. That it was unimportant is to be assumed. That which followed was important. The nameless youth invited him for a walk. And what a walk it turned out to be!
192
At a rapid stride the stranger led the way straight out of the business section of the city into a wilderness7 of apartment houses. Nor did he pause here. On and on they went. A mile of streets filled with children, of apartments where home lights were glowing. Here, through some windows they caught glimpses of little circles gathered around the evening meal, of happy groups about a piano, or some elderly couple seated reading beside a lamp.
A mile of this, two miles, three. Few words were spoken. “And this is what he calls a little walk!” Johnny all but groaned8 aloud.
Still there was no pause. Four miles, then five and six. Johnny was beginning to believe it was a practical joke, when suddenly the strange youth turned upon him.
“Johnny Thompson,” he said, with his eyes fairly glowing in the night, “have you seen those homes?”
“Yes, I—”
“How many were there?”
“Thousands.”
“How many honest people live in them?”
“Most people are honest.”
“That’s it!” The boy’s tone was deeply earnest. “Here is a city filled for the most part by honest folks. Yet it is ridden by crooked9 politicians and grafters; it is in the grip of the criminal element. This grip cannot, or at least has not been shaken.
193
“Do you know what I believe, Johnny Thompson?” He gripped Johnny’s arm. “I believe that this world was made for good, honest, generous, clean-minded people to live in, and that when it has become impossible for such people to live without being poisoned by moonshine, robbed by grafters or shot by holdup men, it is time for some of those who are honest and good and clean to die that their city may be made right again.”
“So that was it,” thought Johnny. “A sermon.
“That’s all right,” Johnny replied a moment later, thinking things out as he went along. “It’s well enough to take a sporting chance, to join hands with those who endeavor to enforce the law, to help them try to work the thing out.
“But just to throw yourself in the face of certain death—if that’s what you mean—”
“I mean just that.”
194
“Well, then,” Johnny drawled, “all I have to say is, life is mighty sweet to me. I like to see the sunrise over the water in some deep-shaded bay, to see it set amid the golden glory of the clouds, to see the stars come out one by one.
“I love music the best of all. I like to hear children sing and see them go skipping over the grass.
“No, my friend,” he added soberly, “I’m willing to take a chance. But when it is no longer a chance, when death becomes a grim certainty, I—I’m afraid you’d have to leave me out.”
The youth said not another word. They boarded a street car and went rattling11 back to the heart of the city. All the way the nameless one sat with chin on breast. The fire that was in his eyes appeared to have burned out.
And yet, as they left the car he exclaimed with renewed heat: “All the same, I am sure there is no other way!”
195
“Johnny,” the stranger said, as they stood at the parting of the ways, “Johnny,” his tone was very serious, “tell me about these two young detectives. Are they grandstand players?”
“Grandstand players!” Johnny’s tone showed his astonishment13.
“Some one has said they are. I wouldn’t want—well, no matter what I wouldn’t want to do. But you know them. Tell me the truth.”
“Grandstand players!” Johnny was indignant. “If you were held up by a man whose criminal record for robbery and killing14 is as long as your arm; if you were off duty and armed only with a small pistol, while he had a regular cannon15; if you tackled him alone in the dark, with no one to watch the play; if you fought him for ten minutes; if he got his gun to your head and pulled the trigger, but it failed to go off; if he bit you to the bone, fighting like a demon16; if you won at last; if you got your man, would you call that grandstand stuff?”
“No,” said the boy solemnly, “I wouldn’t.”
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“Drew Lane did that. And Tom Howe is not one inch behind him. If all the coppers17 in this town were as square and as fearless as Drew Lane and Tom Howe, this city would be clean.”
Johnny told the youth with the burning eyes much more about his two pals18 of the police department. To his surprise, he found him taking notes. This, too, he was to recall long after.
“Thanks. Er—thanks a heap! You’ve helped me no end,” the boy said at last. “Good-night.” And he was gone.
“That,” said Johnny, as he walked slowly down the boulevard and across the river, “is one queer chap. He’s up to something, I’ll be bound.
“But then, if he wasn’t on the up and up, ‘The Ferret’ would never have introduced him to me. And then again, I wonder if ‘The Ferret’ ever makes a mistake.”
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1
shack
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| adj.简陋的小屋，窝棚 | |
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2
afterward
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| adv.后来；以后 | |
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3
exclamation
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| n.感叹号，惊呼，惊叹词 | |
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4
abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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5
lamely
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| 一瘸一拐地，不完全地 | |
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6
visualize
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| vt.使看得见，使具体化，想象，设想 | |
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7
wilderness
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| n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠 | |
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8
groaned
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| v.呻吟( groan的过去式和过去分词 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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9
crooked
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| adj.弯曲的；不诚实的，狡猾的，不正当的 | |
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10
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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11
rattling
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| adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词 | |
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12
marvel
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| vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事 | |
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13
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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14
killing
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| n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财 | |
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15
cannon
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| n.大炮，火炮；飞机上的机关炮 | |
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16
demon
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| n.魔鬼，恶魔 | |
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17
coppers
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| 铜( copper的名词复数 )； 铜币 | |
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18
pals
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| n.朋友( pal的名词复数 )；老兄；小子；（对男子的不友好的称呼）家伙 | |
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