t. Yet,
like all human beings, he had his odd, almost child-like moods,
inexplicable even to himself--moods illogical, almost pettish, and
wholly incongruous with his own accepted principles of reasoning. For
instance, he maintained that women had neither attraction nor interest
for him--yet he found himself singularly displeased when after two or
three days of utter solitude, and when he was rather eagerly expecting
Manella to arrive with the new milk which was his staple food, a lanky,
red-haired ugly boy appeared instead of her--a boy who slouched along,
swinging the milk pail in one hand and clutching a half-munched slice
of pine-apple in the other.

"Hello--o!" called this individual. "Not dead yet?"

For answer Seaton strode forward and taking the milk-pail from him
gripped him by the dirty cotton shirt and gave him a brief but severe
shaking.

"No,--not dead yet!" he said--"You insolent young monkey! Who are you?"

The boy wriggled in his captor's clutch, and tried to squirm himself
out of it.

"I'm--I'm Jake--they calls me Irish Jake"--he gasped--"O Blessed
Mary!--my breath! I clean the knives at the Plaza--"

"I'll clean knives for you presently!" remarked Seaton, with a
threatening gesture--"Yes, Irish Jake, I will! Who sent you here?"

"SHE did--oh, Mary mother!" and the youth gave a further wriggle--"Miss
Soriso--the girl they call Manella. She told me to say she's too busy
to come herself."

Seaton let go the handful of shirt he had held.

"Too busy to come herself!" he repeated, slowly--then smiled--"Well!
That's all right!" Here he lifted the pail of milk, took it into his
hut and brought it back empty, while "Irish Jake," as the boy had
called himself, stood staring--"Tell Miss Soriso that I quite
understand! And that I'm delighted to hear she is so busy! Now, let us
see!" Here he pulled some money out of his pocket, and fingered a few
dirty paper notes--"There, Irish Jake! You'll find that's correct. And
when you come here again don't forget your manners! See? Then you may
be able to keep that disgraceful shirt of yours on! Otherwise it's
likely to be torn off! If you are Irish you should remember that in
very ancient days there used to be manners in the Emerald Isle. Yes,
positively! Fine, gracious, lovely manners! It doesn't look as if that
will be ever any more--but we live in hope. Anyway, YOU--you young
offspring of an Irish hybrid gorilla--you'd best remember what _I_ say,
or there'll