Cinder Path Tales

70 HOW KITTY nothing like it had ever gone over his counter, expense was not considered, and profit there could have been none. I could see the whole devil's brew myself, but Black could not, for Kitty stoodbetween him and the glass. First she put in a double quantity of heavy, thick chocolate, thena liberal lump of ice­ cream, and finallyhardly enough soda to mix them. She drew aglass ofVichy for herself, and I watched as they drank, and chatted, and laughed together. Now, what were the reasons why I did not interfere, whilemy best mile-runner was get­ ting outside of this horrible mixture? The first was, that we did not need him to win the "mile" ;the secondwas, that his re­ marks concerning myself were not inclined to make me care for him personally; the third was,that I thought defeat might teach him a much-needed lesson; and the last and most potent, Imust confess,was, that I had not the heart to spoil Kitty's wicked little game, whichshe wasplaying sobeautifully. As I said before, it was as clear a case of "fix" as if she had given him a drug, and between amild dose of poison and the glass she mixed, there was little for an athlete in training to choose. I sat in the back room for at least a half- hour longer,and sawBlack drink three more