h of glittering snow, scraping up a handful and
straightening himself in the sunshine, as he amused himself by
addressing an imaginary personage.

"Say, gov'nor," he cried, "you've got a bigger stock than you'll get
shut of to-day.--Eh? You don't expect to? Right you are, old man.
Break yer barrer if yer tried to carry it away. Say; looks cleaner and
nicer to-day without any o' that red or yeller paint mixed up with it.
I like it best when it's white. Looks more icy.--What say? Spoon? No,
thank ye. Your customers is too fond o' sucking the spoons, and I never
see you wash 'em after.--Ha! this is prime. Beats Whitechapel all to
fits; and it's real cold, too. I don't care about it when it's
beginning to melt and got so much juist.--But I say! Come! Fair play's
a jewel. One likes a man to make his profit and be 'conimycal with the
sugar, but you ain't put none in this.

"Never mind," he added after a pause, during which the Italian
ice-vendor faded out of his imagination; "it's reg'lar 'freshing when
you're so sleepy. Wonder what made them Italians come to London and
start selling that stuff o' theirs. Seems rum; ours don't seem a
country for that sort o' thing. Baked taters seems so much more
English, and does a chap so much more good."

He walked back to the warm patch of rock, looked at Bracy, and then
placed both rifles and bayonets ready, sat down cross-legged, and after
withdrawing the cartridges, set to work with an oily rag to remove all
traces of rust, and gave each in turn a good polish, ending by carefully
wiping the bayonets after unfixing them, and returning them to their
sheaths, handling Bracy's most carefully, for fear of disturbing the
sleeper. This done, he began to yawn again, and, as he expressed it,
took another penny ice and nodding at vacancy, which he filled with a
peripatetic vendor, he said:

"All right, gov'nor; got no small change. Pay next time I come this
way."

Then he marked out a beat, and began marching up and down.

"Bah!" he cried; "that ice only makes you feel dry and thirsty.--My! how
sleepy I am!--Here, steady!" he cried, as he yawned horribly; "you'll
have your head right off, old man, if you do that.--Never was so sleepy
in my life."

He marched up and down a little faster--ten paces and turn--ten paces
and turn--up and down, up and down, in the warm sunshine; but it was as
if some deadly stupor enveloped him, and as he kept up the steady
regulation march,