replied the little man; "if you were to come to our committee
meetings you would see for yourself. Everything is most carefully gone
into; we endeavour to sift the wheat from the chaff."

"I suppose," said Shelton, "you find a great deal of chaff?"

The little man smiled a suffering smile. The twang of his toneless voice
sounded a trifle shriller.

"I was obliged to refuse a man to-day--a man and a woman, quite young
people, with three small children. He was ill and out of work; but on
inquiry we found that they were not man and wife."

There was a slight pause; the little man's eyes were fastened on his
nails, and, with an appearance of enjoyment, he began to bite them.
Shelton's face had grown a trifle red.

"And what becomes of the woman and the children in a case like that?" he
said.

The little man's eyes began to smoulder.

"We make a point of not encouraging sin, of course. Excuse me a minute;
I see they've finished bagatelle."

He hurried off, and in a moment the clack of bagatelle began again. He
himself was playing with a cold and spurious energy, running after the
balls and exhorting the other players, upon whom a wooden acquiescence
seemed to fall.

Shelton crossed the room, and went up to young Curly. He was sitting on
a bench, smiling to himself his private smiles.

"Are you staying here much longer?" Shelton asked.

Young Curly rose with nervous haste.

"I 'm afraid," he said, "there 's nobody very interesting here
to-night."

"Oh, not at all!" said Shelton; "on the contrary. Only I 've had a
rather tiring day, and somehow I don't feel up to the standard here."

His new acquaintance smiled.

"Oh, really! do you think--that is--"

But he had not time to finish before the clack of bagatelle balls
ceased, and the voice of the little deep-eyed man was heard saying:
"Anybody who wants a book will put his name down. There will be the
usual prayer-meeting on Wednesday next. Will you all go quietly? I am
going to turn the lights out."

One gas-jet vanished, and the remaining jet flared suddenly. By its
harder glare the wooden room looked harder too, and disenchanting. The
figures of its occupants began filing through the door. The little man
was left in the centre of the room, his deep eyes smouldering upon the
backs of the retreating members, his thumb and finger raised to the
turncock of the metre.

"Do you know this part?" asked young Curly as they emerged into the
street. "It 's really