it into still smaller pieces--pieces about the size of an English
walnut, but irregular in shape. Then he inserted the tin funnel
into a small hole in the uppermost surface of the unpainted,
oblong box and dropped in twenty or more of the little pieces of
ice. When a piece proved to be too big to go through the funnel
Elmer broke it again.

Cleggett noticed that there were five of these small holes in the
box, and that Elmer was slowly working his way down the length of
it from hole to hole, sitting astride of it the while.

From the way in which he worked, and the care with which he
conserved every smallest particle of ice, Elmer's motto seemed to
be: "Haste not, waste not." But he did not appear to derive any
great satisfaction from his task, let alone joy. In fact, Elmer
seemed to be a joyless individual; one who habitually looked
forward to the worst. On his broad face, of the complexion
described in police reports as "pasty," melancholy sat enthroned.
His nose was flat and broad, and flat and broad were his cheek
bones, too. His hair was cut very short everywhere except in
front; in front it hung down to his eyebrows in a straggling
black fringe or "bang." Not that the fringe would have covered
the average person's forehead; this "bang" was not long; but the
truth is that Elmer's forehead was lower than the average
person's and therefore easily covered. He had what is known in
certain circles as a cauliflower, or chrysanthemum, ear.

But melancholy as he looked, Elmer had evidently had his moments
of struggle against dejection. One of these moments had been when
he bought the clothes he was wearing. His hat had a bright, red