As he stepped briskly along it occurred to him that there was an unusual stir in the city, though not being familiar with its ordinary state he had no means of comparison. Still, it seemed to him that conditions could not be altogether normal. The people were not moving about their business, but were congregating in groups here and there. Now and then there would be a sudden movement to one point or another, but never for any reason that Topham could see.
As a matter of fact he paid little attention. He was interested in the task that Stiles had set him—a task for which the three hours available before his train left for the east might easily prove anything but superabundant. When at last he caught sight of a brilliant sign “Hiroshima, Japanese restaurant,” his faint curiosity as to the crowd disappeared.
But before he could enter the portals of the restaurant a big workingman—nearly as big a man as himself—barred his way.
“You ain’t goin’ in that Jap hash house, are you, friend?” inquired the stranger.
Topham halted. “That was—er—my idea,” he responded. “Why not?”
“There is strike on; see? An’ the Japs are boycotted; see? They’re playin’ the devil with hard-workin’ Americans. And we ain’t goin’ to stand for it. You want to keep away from there, mister.”
Topham hesitated. His interlocutor was not alone; half a dozen other men, loafing near, were evidently fellow pickets. Topham did not want any trouble during the few hours he was to be in the city. Yet he was resolved to enter the restaurant. The sight of two policemen on guard at the door decided him to force the game.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But I must go in. There are reasons why I can’t forego having my supper there. Pardon me!” He pushed by and stepped to the door. As he went he heard the man cursing behind him.
He seated himself and ordered a meal from a bill of fare presented him by a stocky Japanese waiter, who seemed not at all alarmed by the situation. Perhaps he had grown hardened to it.
When the waiter had disappeared toward the back of the place Topham stared around him.