Balmer's faded tenement with an
equally faded trunk. Nothing happened.
But when Mrs. Balmer entered the room the following morning to straighten
it up she found several innovations. There were four kerosene lamps in the
room. They stood on small rickety tables, one in each corner. And there
was a new electric light bulb in the central fixture. Mrs. Balmer took
note of these things with a professional eye but said nothing.
Idiosyncrasies are to be expected of the amputated folk who seek out
lonely tenement bedrooms for a home.
* * * * *
A week later, however, Mrs. Balmer spoke to the man. "You burn your light
all night," said Mrs. Balmer, "and while I have no objection to that,
still it runs up the electric light bill."
The man agreed that this was true and answered that he would pay $1 extra
each week for the privilege of continuing to burn the electric light all
night.
Nothing happened. Yet Mrs. Balmer, when she had time for such things as
contemplation, grew curious about the man in the back room. In fact she
transferred her curiosity from the Japanese female impersonator on the
second floor and the beautiful and remarkably gowned middle-aged woman on
the first floor to this man who kept four kerosene lamps and an electric
bulb burning all night on the third floor.
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