robes
cost him hundreds of dollars. One night at a resort called Cedar Point
he got into a fight and ran amuck like a wild thing. With his fist he
broke a large mirror in the wash-room of a hotel and later went about
smashing windows and breaking chairs in dance halls for the joy of
hearing the glass rattle on the floor and seeing the terror in the eyes
of clerks, who had come from Sandusky to spend the evening at the resort
with their sweethearts.

The affair between Ed Handby and Belle Carpenter on the surface amounted
to nothing. He had succeeded in spending but one evening in her company.
On that evening he hired a horse and buggy at Wesley Moyer's livery barn
and took her for a drive. The conviction that she was the woman his
nature demanded and that he must get her, settled upon him and he told
her of his desires. The bartender was ready to marry and to begin trying
to earn money for the support of his wife, but so simple was his nature
that he found it difficult to explain his intentions. His body ached
with physical longing and with his body he expressed himself. Taking the
milliner into his arms and holding her tightly, in spite of her
struggles, he kissed her until she became helpless. Then he brought her
back to town and let her out of the buggy. "When I get hold of you again
I'll not let you go. You can't play with me," he declared as he turned
to drive away. Then, jumping out of the buggy, he gripped her shoulders
with his strong hands. "I'll keep you for good the next time," he said.
"You might as well make up your mind to that. It's you and me for it and
I'm going to have you before I get through."

* * *

One night in January when there was a new moon George Willard, who was,
in Ed Handby's mind, the only obstacle to his getting Belle Carpenter,
went for a walk. Early that evening George went into Ransom Surbeck's
pool room with Seth Richmond and Art Wilson, son of the town butcher.
Seth Richmond stood with his back against the wall and remained silent,
but George Willard talked. The pool room was filled with Winesburg boys
and they talked of women. The young reporter got into that vein. He
said that women should look out for themselves that the fellow who went
out with a girl was not responsible for what happened. As he talked he
looked about, eager for attention. He held the floor for five minutes
and then Art Wilson began to talk. Art was learning the barber's trade
in Cal Prouse's shop and already