land swooped down upon the plate. In spite
of his huge maw he must have been trained to quick lunches, for, in
the fleeting instant before he received the kick in the ribs I aimed
at him, he completely engulfed the contents of the plate. He swept it
clean. One last lingering lick of his tongue removed even the grease
stains.

As that big Newfoundland behaved at the plate of my dog Punch, so
behaved I at the table of those two maiden ladies of Harrisburg. I
swept it bare. I didn't break anything, but I cleaned out the eggs and
the toast and the coffee. The servant brought more, but I kept her
busy, and ever she brought more and more. The coffee was delicious,
but it needn't have been served in such tiny cups. What time had I to
eat when it took all my time to prepare the many cups of coffee for
drinking?

At any rate, it gave my tongue time to wag. Those two maiden ladies,
with their pink-and-white complexions and gray curls, had never looked
upon the bright face of adventure. As the "Tramp-Royal" would have it,
they had worked all their lives "on one same shift." Into the sweet
scents and narrow confines of their uneventful existence I brought the
large airs of the world, freighted with the lusty smells of sweat and
strife, and with the tangs and odors of strange lands and soils. And
right well I scratched their soft palms with the callous on my own
palms--the half-inch horn that comes of pull-and-haul of rope and long
and arduous hours of caressing shovel-handles. This I did, not merely
in the braggadocio of youth, but to prove, by toil performed, the
claim I had upon their charity.

Ah, I can see them now, those dear, sweet ladies, just as I sat at
their breakfast table twelve years ago, discoursing upon the way of my
feet in the world, brushing aside their kindly counsel as a real
devilish fellow should, and thrilling them, not alone with my own
adventures, but with the adventures of all the other fellows with whom
I had rubbed shoulders and exchanged confidences. I appropriated them
all, the adventures of the other fellows, I mean; and if those maiden
ladies had been less trustful and guileless, they could have tangled
me up beautifully in my chronology. Well, well, and what of it? It was
fair exchange. For their many cups of coffee, and eggs, and bites of
toast, I gave full value. Right royally I gave them entertainment. My
coming to sit at their table was their adventure, and adventure is
beyond price anyway.