the hope that he was feeling a
little better.

"Is that what she let you in for?" he demanded fiercely.

"Well, I didn't just put it to her in that way, if you mean your
daughter," said William calmly. "I'm after some money, to tell you the
truth."

"Money!" the old man shrieked the word.

"You heard me first time," returned William politely, "and ain't you
glad your sickness don't hinder your hearing some?"

"Money!" shouted the old man again. "Money! What do you want money
from me for?"

"The rent," said William calmly--"two months, due to-day. You can
read, I believe," and he held before the old man's face two receipts,
properly made out for the amounts due. "I see," he said, pointing to
an open letter on the window sill, "that you got Mister Whimple's note
about it. I'm the coll-ect-or he speaks of."

"You!"

"The same, Mister Jonas."

The man glared at him savagely, and then shouted, "You--you--get
t'hades out of this."

"Sure, I'll get out as soon as I get the rent. But as for the place
you speak of--not for mine. This is a good enough world for me, Mister
Jonas."

The old man fumed in helpless rage. He cursed William and his family
and their antecedents, cursed his daughter, cursed everybody and
everything for a full five minutes, and ended up with the declaration,
"I haven't got any money."

William silently regarded him for a moment, and then leaning forward a
little said, very clearly, "Well, I guess you ain't making so much as
you uster when you sold light-weight coal on the big contract from the
city, but I'm told on the best au-thor-ity, Mister Jonas, that you
ain't ever likely to know what it means to be without money."

For a long time then they looked at each other, fear on the old man's
face, William inwardly troubled, outwardly cool and unruffled. The old
man broke the silence.

"Mary, Mary," he screamed, and his daughter ran to him, "pay this young
ruffian two months' rent, and get the receipts from him, and if you
ever let him in again--I'll--I'll kill you."

When the transaction was completed, William turned to Jonas. "I'll be
here to the minute when the next rent's due," he said confidently, "and
it'll be ever so much nicer for you to have it ready, else," and here
he assumed what he believed to be the correct attitude for such an
occasion, "I'll have to have you turned out."

Then he left, the old man hurling curses at him until the door closed.

"He's gotter gr