Рассказы / Short Stories

Noisy; but no harm. We’ve instructions not to take them.”

Soapy stopped making a noise. How could he get to prison? The wind was cold, and he buttoned his thin coat against the chilling wind.

In a cigar store he saw a well-dressed man lighting a cigar. His silk umbrella he had set by the door on entering. Soapy stepped inside, picked up the umbrella, and began to walk away slowly. The man followed hastily.

“My umbrella,” he said, sternly.

“Oh, is it?” sneered Soapy. “Well, why don’t you call a policeman? I took it.

The policeman looked at them curiously.

“Of course,” said the umbrella man – “that is – well, you know how these mistakes occur – I – if it’s your umbrella I hope you’ll excuse me – I picked it up this morning in a restaurant – If you recognize it as yours, why – I hope you’ll —”

“Of course it’s mine,” said Soapy, viciously.

The umbrella man walked away.

Soapy was really angry now. He threw the umbrella away. He muttered against the men who wear helmets and carry clubs. He wanted to go to prison, and they regard him as a king who could do nothing wrong.

He began to walk back to Madison Square and home – his park bench. But on a quiet corner, Soapy suddenly stopped. Here was an old church. Through a purple window a soft light glowed, and sweet music was coming from inside the church.

The moon was above, lustrous and serene; vehicles and pedestrians were few – and the anthem that the organist played cemented Soapy to the iron fence, for Soapy remembered other, happier days. He thought of the days when he had a mother, and friends, and beautiful things in his life.

The music from the old church made a sudden and wonderful change in his soul. He viewed with swift horror the pit into which he had tumbled, the degraded days, unworthy desires, and dead hopes.

And then a wonderful thing happened. Soapy decided to change his life and be a new man. He will pull himself out of the mire; he will conquer the evil that had taken possession of him.

A fur importer had once offered him a place as driver. He will find him tomorrow and ask for the position. He will be somebody in the world. He will —

Soapy felt a hand laid on his arm. He looked quickly around into the broad face of a policeman.