hat restless, fault-finding fellow there," and he indicated Rick
with a movement of his forefinger, "it would need a faultless abode
like _yours_ to satisfy him," and he signed to the silent White Advocate
at his side. "Take him, he is yours," said the Doom's-man solemnly.

And with that the Advocates departed with their awards.

FRIEND OR FOE?

I.

SIR EDWARD lay back lazily in his chair, with a letter in a woman's
handwriting crumpled at his feet.

"She must make the best of it now," said he, gazing at the fire. "She is
not worse off than others, come to that." And he lolled among the
cushions, gazing into the fire, with a hard and cruel look on his
countenance, on which the stamp of sensuality was unmistakably
impressed.

It was a large and luxuriously-furnished apartment, with everything so
arranged as to minister to the senses and afford them the fullest
gratification which suggestions could impart.

But Sir Edward, lolling by the fire this evening, experienced little
satisfaction in his luxurious surroundings: the eroding tooth of thought
they could no way quiet; and it was the irritation of this that he most
desired to have allayed.

He lighted a cigar, and began to smoke vigorously, leaning back the
while and contemplating the smoke-clouds that drifted round in swirling
folds and spirals, an occasional ring mounting airily over all.

Smoking away steadily, cigar after cigar--for he was an insatiable
smoker as he was insatiable in everything--Sir Edward seemed presently
to be almost hidden among the smoke-wreaths, which had now thickened in
the room with unexampled rapidity.

At first he felt inclined to ring for a servant and have the windows
opened to let in a breath of air, but there was a certain amount of
interest in watching the floating veils of smoke; and, besides, in the
mere act of idly watching these he could let certain vivid tableaux,
with which Memory was amusing him, drift beyond the range of his
attention, he hoped. So he lay back, letting the smoke thicken in the
atmosphere, while he followed the fantastic wreaths lazily with his
eyes.

It was almost as if he were dozing as he lay there; for he could have
sworn that in the chair on the opposite side of the fireplace he
perceived a grey old fogey reclining among the cushions, yet with
deep-sunken eyes fixed watchfully on his face.

It was really absurd to have an utter stranger intrude his company on
him in this unceremonio