desire. Sitting
there in Tait's, my view of Worth cut off now by a waiter with a
high-carried tray, again by people passing to tables for whom he halted,
I had a good chance to see the turning of eyeballs that followed him,
the furtive glances that snatched at him, or fondled him, or would have
probed him; the admiration of the women, the envy of the men, curiously
alike in that it was sometimes veiled and half wistful, sometimes very
open. Drifters--you see so many of the sort in a restaurant--why
wouldn't they hanker after the strength and ruthlessness of a man like
Worth? And the poor prunes, how little they knew him! As my friend Walt
would say, he wasn't out after any of the old, smooth prizes they cared
for. And win or lose he would still be a victor, for all he and his
sort demand is freedom, and the joy of the game. So he came on to me.

I noticed, a little startled, as he slumped into his chair with a grunt
of greeting, that his cheek was somehow gaunt and pale under the tan;
the blue fire of his eyes only smoldered, and I pulled back his chair
with,

"You look as if you hadn't had any dinner."

"I haven't." He gave a man-size order for food and turned back from it
to listen to me. "I'll be nearer human when I get some grub under my
belt."

My report of what had been done on the case since we separated was
interrupted by the arrival of our orders, and Worth sailed into a thick,
juicy steak while I was still explaining details. The orchestra whanged
and blared and jazzed away; the people at the other tables noticed us or
busied themselves noisily with affairs of their own; Worth sat and
enjoyed his meal with the air of a man feeding at a solitary country
tavern. When he had finished--and he took his time about it--the worn,
punished look was gone from his face; his eye was bright, his tone
nonchalant, as he lighted a cigarette, remarking,

"I've had one more good dinner. Food's a thing you can depend on; it
doesn't rake up your entire past record from the time you squirmed into
this world, and tell you what a fool you've always been."

I turned that over in my mind. Did it mean that he'd seen his father and
got a calling down? I wanted to know--and was afraid to ask. The fact is
I was beginning to wake up to a good many things about my young boss. I
was intensely interested in his reactions on people. So far, I'd seen
him with strangers. I wished that I might have a chance to observe him
among intimates.