d make a good guess, Mister
Briscombe," said William, and thereupon he departed for home, where
later he slept the profound sleep characteristic of all office boys.

CHAPTER XIII

William was at the office half an hour earlier than usual the next
morning. He entered cautiously by the back stair, and reconnoitred
carefully before closing the door. Lucien was the only person in
sight. He preserved a profound silence to William's first questionings
as to the happenings of the previous afternoon, but when William gave
him one minute in which to decide on fighting or telling the story, he
told. His narrative was curt and his demeanour cold: it became quite
frosty when William laughed delightedly over the recital of the
thrashing Lucien had received.

"Where did he hit you, Lucien?" asked William when the story had been
told.

"In this room," answered Lucien with dignity, and William roared again.

Lucien waited until the laughter died away and then called attention to
the fact that there was a letter on William's desk. "You're right for
once, Lucien," said William, who had noticed the letter on first
entering the room. He picked it up, aware that Lucien was watching him
closely, and feeling certain that the letter did not contain good news
for him. Therefore he slipped it into his pocket and walked out of the
office to the Bay front, where, with his feet dangling over one of the
wharves, he slowly opened the envelope and unfolded the enclosure. The
letter was as follows:--

"DEAR WILLIAM,--In view of the events of this afternoon, the full
details of which by the time you get this you will doubtless have
gleaned from Lucien, it is impossible that you should longer remain in
my employ. I am very sorry to lose you, but there is a limit to the
length that even an office boy can be allowed to go.

"Yours sincerely,
"CHAS. WHIMPLE."

"Fired!" said William to himself, "fired! Well, I ain't surprised.
Tough luck though." He read the letter through again, and continued
his soliloquy. "Well, after this, no more dogs for me. Gee--but I
hate to leave that place. It beats the band how things will turn out
rotten just when the luck seems to be all right."

But William didn't spend much time in regrets. The day was blazing
hot, the civic tug for the free baths off the Island sand bar was about
to leave the wharf, and he constituted himself a part of the noisy
human freight with which it was laden. He