{"product_id":"2940013392328","title":"K","description":"CHAPTER I\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Street stretched away north and south in two lines of ancient\u003cbr\u003ehouses that seemed to meet in the distance. The man found it infinitely\u003cbr\u003einviting. It had the well-worn look of an old coat, shabby but\u003cbr\u003ecomfortable. The thought of coming there to live pleased him. Surely\u003cbr\u003ehere would be peace--long evenings in which to read, quiet nights in\u003cbr\u003ewhich to sleep and forget. It was an impression of home, really, that\u003cbr\u003eit gave. The man did not know that, or care particularly. He had been\u003cbr\u003ewandering about a long time--not in years, for he was less than thirty.\u003cbr\u003eBut it seemed a very long time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt the little house no one had seemed to think about references. He\u003cbr\u003ecould have given one or two, of a sort. He had gone to considerable\u003cbr\u003etrouble to get them; and now, not to have them asked for--\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThere was a house across and a little way down the Street, with a card\u003cbr\u003ein the window that said: \"Meals, twenty-five cents.\" Evidently the\u003cbr\u003emidday meal was over; men who looked like clerks and small shopkeepers\u003cbr\u003ewere hurrying away. The Nottingham curtains were pinned back, and just\u003cbr\u003einside the window a throaty barytone was singing:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e     \"Home is the hunter, home from the hill:\u003cbr\u003e      And the sailor, home from sea.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcross the Street, the man smiled grimly--Home!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor perhaps an hour Joe Drummond had been wandering up and down the\u003cbr\u003eStreet. His straw hat was set on the back of his head, for the evening\u003cbr\u003ewas warm; his slender shoulders, squared and resolute at eight, by nine\u003cbr\u003ehad taken on a disconsolate droop. Under a street lamp he consulted his\u003cbr\u003ewatch, but even without that he knew what the hour was. Prayer meeting\u003cbr\u003eat the corner church was over; boys of his own age were ranging\u003cbr\u003ethemselves along the curb, waiting for the girl of the moment. When she\u003cbr\u003ecame, a youth would appear miraculously beside her, and the world-old\u003cbr\u003epairing off would have taken place.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Street emptied. The boy wiped the warm band of his hat and slapped\u003cbr\u003eit on his head again. She was always treating him like this--keeping him\u003cbr\u003ehanging about, and then coming out, perfectly calm and certain that\u003cbr\u003ehe would still be waiting. By George, he'd fool her, for once: he'd go\u003cbr\u003eaway, and let her worry. She WOULD worry. She hated to hurt anyone. Ah!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcross the Street, under an old ailanthus tree, was the house he\u003cbr\u003ewatched, a small brick, with shallow wooden steps and--curious\u003cbr\u003earchitecture of Middle West sixties--a wooden cellar door beside the\u003cbr\u003esteps.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47082611310832,"sku":"2940013392328","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940013392328_p0.jpg?v=1763580833","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940013392328","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}