ld be a fine to do if Nimrod
came and heard them. Just as he had made up his mind to tell them to
stop the noise, it ceased of itself and he heard loud whispers:

'Look out! Someone's comin'.'

The house became very quiet.

Crass put out his pipe and opened the window and the back door to get
rid of the smell of the tobacco smoke. Then he shifted the pair of
steps noisily, and proceeded to work more quickly than before. Most
likely it was old Misery.

He worked on for some time in silence, but no one came to the kitchen:
whoever it was must have gone upstairs. Crass listened attentively.
Who could it be? He would have liked to go to see whom it was, but at
the same time, if it were Nimrod, Crass wished to be discovered at
work. He therefore waited a little longer and presently he heard the
sound of voices upstairs but was unable to recognize them. He was just
about to go out into the passage to listen, when whoever it was began
coming downstairs. Crass at once resumed his work. The footsteps came
along the passage leading to the kitchen: slow, heavy, ponderous
footsteps, but yet the sound was not such as would be made by a man
heavily shod. It was not Misery, evidently.

As the footsteps entered the kitchen, Crass looked round and beheld a
very tall, obese figure, with a large, fleshy, coarse-featured,
clean-shaven face, and a great double chin, the complexion being of the
colour and appearance of the fat of uncooked bacon. A very large
fleshy nose and weak-looking pale blue eyes, the slightly inflamed lids
being almost destitute of eye-lashes. He had large fat feet cased in
soft calfskin boots, with drab-coloured spats. His overcoat, heavily
trimmed with sealskin, reached just below the knees, and although the
trousers were very wide they were filled by the fat legs within, the
shape of the calves being distinctly perceptible. Even as the feet
seemed about to burst the uppers of the boots, so the legs appeared to
threaten the trousers with disruption. This man was so large that his
figure completely filled up the doorway, and as he came in he stooped
slightly to avoid damaging the glittering silk hat on his head. One
gloved hand was thrust into the pocket of the overcoat and in the other
he carried a small Gladstone bag.

When Crass beheld this being, he touched his cap respectfully.

'Good morning, sir!'

'Good morning. They told me upstairs that I should find the foreman
here. Are you the