t the slightest intention of purchasing anything. The
audible remarks of the salesgirls made Evan's cheeks burn.

When he remonstrated with the old man, the latter would not rest
thereafter until he had given Evan the slip. Under cover of the crowds
he would slip out of a side door, or dart into an elevator just as the
door was closing. After a search Evan would find him perhaps entering
a second-hand shop to trade the decent clothes that Maud made him wear
for something out of stock with a little cash to boot. At other times
Evan would track him by the crowd that gathered to hear his argument
with a shoe-string peddler or a push-cart man. A favourite trick of
his to evade Evan was to suddenly dart behind a moving trolley car.
More than once this almost ended his career on the spot. At other
times he was quite tractable and seemed almost fond of Evan.

Bargaining was his ruling passion. Consequently they haunted such
places as the sidewalk market in Grand street, and the fish market
under the Queensboro Bridge. Notwithstanding his avarice the old man
not seldom bought things for which he had no possible use, simply
because he thought they were cheap. He would bring home a doubtful
fish in a bit of newspaper or a bag of pickled apples which promptly
found their way into the Deaves' garbage cans.

His pet aversion was beggars. Woe to the beggar who tackled Simeon
Deaves unwittingly. He would receive a lecture on Thrift on the spot.
This likewise furnished amusement to the street crowds.

Evan's grand object, of course, was to keep the old man from doing
anything which would give the blackmailers a further hold on him. One
of his narrowest escapes took place under the very roof of the Deaves
house. The old man was considered safe in his own little junk room in
the basement, and was allowed to potter there unwatched. One rainy
morning while he was supposedly so engaged Evan was enjoying a respite
with a book in the little office adjoining the library, when through
the open door into the hall he saw one of the maids whisper to another,
then both tittered and scampered down stairs. Evan always on the alert
for mischief, quietly followed.

He found most of the servants of that disorderly establishment gathered
in a basement passage with heads bent, listening to sounds that issued
through the door of Simeon Deaves' room. Among them was Hilton the
butler, an oily, obese rascal whom Evan thoroughly distrusted.