w, and it had come to him sudden that he would
enjoy himself fur a minute or two taking part in it. But he wasn't going
to get TOO worked up about it, either, fur the show might end by making
him tired, after all.

As he come down the aisle fumbling in his coat, he stopped and begun to
slap all his pockets. Then his face cleared, and he dived into a
vest pocket. Everybody looked like they thought he was going to pull
something important out of it. But he didn't. All he pulled out was jest
one of these here little ordinary red books of cigarette papers. Then
he dived fur some loose tobacco, and begun to roll one. I noticed his
fingers was long and white and slim and quick. But not excited fingers;
only the kind that seems to say as much as talking says.

He licked his cigarette, and then he sauntered ahead, looking up. As
he looked up the light fell full on his face fur the first time. He had
high cheek bones and iron-gray hair which he wore rather long, and very
black eyes. As he lifted his head and looked close at Doctor Kirby, a
change went over both their faces. Doctor Kirby's mouth opened like he
was going to speak. So did the other feller's. One side of his mouth
twitched into something that was too surprised to be a grin, and one of
his black eyebrows lifted itself up at the same time. But neither him
nor Doctor Kirby spoke.

He stuck his cigarette into his mouth and turned sideways from Doctor
Kirby, like he hadn't noticed him pertic'ler. And he turns to the
chairman.

"Will," he says. And everybody listens. You could see they all knowed
him, and that they all respected him too, by the way they was waiting
to hear what he would say to Will. But they was all impatient and eager,
too, and they wouldn't wait very long, although now they was hushing
each other and leaning forward.

"Will," he says, very polite and quiet, "can I trouble you for a match?"

And everybody let go their breath. Some with a snort, like they knowed
they was being trifled with, and it made 'em sore. His eyebrows goes up
agin, like it was awful impolite in folks to snort that-away, and he is
surprised to hear it. And Will, he digs fur a match and finds her and
passes her over. He lights his cigarette, and he draws a good inhale,
and he blows the smoke out like it done him a heap of good. He sees
something so interesting in that little cloud of smoke that everybody
else looks at it, too.

"Do I understand," he says, "that some one is go