feeling as lonesome and friendless as the north pole. It sometimes

seemed to him that a man might better be dead than exposed to these

devastating varieties of climate.

The case was simple. Sally wanted to believe that Tracy's preference was

disinterested; so she was always applying little tests of one sort or

another, hoping and expecting that they would bring out evidence which

would confirm or fortify her belief. Poor Tracy did not know that these

experiments were being made upon him, consequently he walked promptly

into all the traps the girl set for him. These traps consisted in

apparently casual references to social distinction, aristocratic title

and privilege, and such things. Often Tracy responded to these

references heedlessly and not much caring what he said provided it kept

the talk going and prolonged the seance. He didn't suspect that the girl

was watching his face and listening for his words as one who watches the

judge's face and listens for the words which will restore him to home and

friends and freedom or shut him away from the sun and human

companionship forever. He didn't suspect that his careless words were

being weighed, and so he often delivered sentence of death when it would

have been just as handy and all the same to him to pronounce acquittal.

Daily he broke the girl's heart, nightly he sent her to the rack for sleep. He

couldn't understand it.

Some people would have put this and that together and perceived that the

weather never changed until one particular subject was introduced,

257

The American Claimant