him.

"All these years has Professor Von Barwig been in my house and he has
paid me like a gentleman. He pays me now, how does he do it? Oh,
dear!" Miss Husted tried hard not to cry, but the tears would come.
The men looked on sadly; they had always accepted his bounty, and now
they were reproaching themselves.

Miss Husted's feelings made her reminiscent, and when she was
reminiscent she invariably exaggerated--in retrospect she saw
everything as she would have liked it to have been. "When he first
came here what a man he was! And this, what a neighbourhood then, an
elegant residential district. I had a position then, I could recommend
him; everybody knew Miss Houston of Houston Street." In spite of her
sorrow she felt proud of the past.

The men looked at each other. They had heard this for the past fifteen
years. It meant a long session and they wanted to practise their
music; so Pinac merely nodded, and Fico shook his head gravely.

"Why, I was pointed out by everybody as Miss Houston of Houston Street.
I was a landmark; a sight."

"Yes," said Pinac unconsciously. "You were; and you are still."

Miss Husted looked at him sharply. "Was he venturing to laugh at her?"
she thought. But his sad face belied any such intention.

"How things have changed?" went on Miss Husted tremulously. "There's
not a child in this neighbourhood that can afford to pay for his
lesson! And when they can't afford it, he won't take the money! He
gives away the very bread out of his mouth."

Pinac and Fico shifted uncomfortably.

"Everything he had of value has gone long ago. Do you remember that
beautiful violin?"

"Ah, yes! his Amati. Yes, yes! He bought instead a cheap one. I
wondered why, but did not ask him."

"And still he pays me. Where does he get it?" asked Miss Husted
tearfully. "What is he doing out every night, nearly all night?"

The men looked at each other; this was another revelation. They were
out at night themselves and so did not know of his absence.

"There's something done up to go to pawn now," said Miss Husted,
pointing to a box wrapped up in a paper on the piano. It was Von
Barwig's case of pistols. Pinac and Fico looked at each other in
astonishment.

"Pistols for duel!" said Pinac at once. He had seen them in the
theatre, long, thin, single barrel pistols.

"Sometimes I feel that he came to this country purposely to take
vengeance on some one," said Miss Husted mysteriously