of the moment that demanded violence as its
outlet. Although he did not consider it a matter of any great
importance, he did not look forward to the six month's jail sentence he
would doubtless be given.

His opportunity to hide in the niche had come as accidentally and as
suddenly as his opportunity to slug his card partner. It had come after
the prisoners had been advised of the crisis and were being herded into
vans for transportation elsewhere. He had snatched the opportunity
without giving any consideration whatever to the crisis. Probably
because he did not have enough imagination to fear anything--however
terrible--which might occur in the future. And because he treasured his
freedom above all else. Freedom for today, tomorrow could take care of
itself.

Now, after forty-eight hours, he writhed and twisted his huge body out
of the niche and onto the floor of the furnace room. His legs were numb
and he found that he could not stand. He managed to sit up and was able
to bend his back enough so his great hands could reach his legs and
begin to massage life back into them.

So elementally brutal was this man that he pounded his legs until they
were black and blue, before feeling returned to them. In a few minutes
he was walking out of the furnace room through a jail house which should
now be utterly deserted. But was it? He went slowly, gliding along close
to the walls to reach the front door unchallenged.

He walked out into the street. It was daylight and the street was
completely deserted. The man took a deep breath and grinned. "I'll be
damned," he muttered. "I'll be double and triple damned. They're all
gone. Every damn one of them run off like rats and I'm the only one
left. I'll be damned!"

A tremendous sense of exultation seized him. He clenched his fists and
laughed loud, his laugh echoing up the street. He was happier than he
had ever been in his quick, violent life. And his joy was that of a
child locked in a pantry with a huge chocolate cake.

He rubbed a hand across his mouth, looked up the street, began walking.
"I wonder if they took all the whisky with them," he said. Then he
grinned; he was sure they had not.

He began walking in long strides toward Clark Street. In toward the
still heart of the empty city.

* * * * *

He was a slim, pale-skinned little man, and very dangerous. He was also
very clever. Eventually they would have found out, but he had been