,' (meaning you),
`has lagged off,' I says. `Yes,' says he, `we don't live together no
more?' says he. `I know all about it,' says I; `I seen the animal,'
(meaning you), says I, `o' Toosday.' `Did you?' says he. `Yaas,' I
says, `and nice and boozy he was,' I says, `at eleving o'clock o'
night,' I says. `Did he say anything about me?' he says; and I told
him, and he says he must go off, he says, 'cos he didn't want to be
'ere, he says, when you come. He do talk beautiful, he does."

I went on my lonely way more humbled than ever, but more determined, if
possible, to recover my lost friend; yet thinking little or nothing of
the greater and ever-present Friend against whom I had sinned so
grievously.

But it was not to be for many days yet.

Smith always avoided me at the office in the same marked way, so that it
was utterly impossible to make any advances to a reconciliation. The
idea of writing to him occurred to me more than once, but the thought
that he might throw my letter into the fire unread deterred me. No, the
only thing was to bear my humiliation and wait for a chance.

Doubleday's lecture had wrought a considerable change in my habits.
Although I found it impossible all at once to give up consorting with
"the usual lot," especially those of them (now not a few), to whom I
owed money, I was yet a good deal more chary of my complaisance, and
less influenced by their example in ordinary matters. I succeeded,
greatly to my own satisfaction and much to every one else's surprise, in
making myself distinctly disagreeable on more than one occasion, which
Doubleday looked upon as a very healthy sign, and which, though it
involved me in a good deal of persecution at the time, did not seriously
affect my position as a member of their honourable society.

How I wished I might once more call Jack Smith my friend, and cast off
once for all these other shallow acquaintances!

During these wretched weeks Billy became my chief comforter, for he of
all people was the only one I could talk to about Jack.

I always arranged my walks by Style Street so as to pass his "place of
business" after the time when I knew Jack would have left, and then
eagerly drank in all the news I could hear of my lost friend.

One evening, a week after the adventure with Billy and his mother just
recorded, the boy greeted me with most extraordinary and mysterious
demonstrations of importance and glee. He walked at least half a dozen
t