le a little
anxiously.

"No fear o' that," replied Bindle regretfully. "Things don't 'appen to
men like Gupperduck; still it's funny 'im missin' a meal," he added.

At a quarter to ten Mrs. Bindle reluctantly acquiesced in Bindle's
demand for supper. She was clearly anxious, listening intently for the
familiar sound of Mr. Gupperduck's key in the outer door.

"I wonder what could have happened?" she said as the clock indicated a
quarter past ten and she rose to clear away.

"P'raps 'e's been took up to 'eaven like that cove wot 'Earty was
talkin' about the other night," suggested Bindle.

Mrs. Bindle's sniff intimated that she considered such a remark
unworthy of her attention.

"Ah! King Richard is 'isself again!" remarked Bindle, pushing his
plate from him, throwing himself back in his chair, and proceeding to
fill his pipe, indifferent as to what happened to the lodger.

Mrs. Bindle busied herself in putting Mr. Gupperduck's supper in the
oven to keep warm.

"Funny sort of job for a man to take up," remarked Bindle
conversationally, as he lighted his pipe, "preaching at people wot
only laughs back."

"Oh! you think so, do you!" snapped Mrs. Bindle.

"I was listenin' to 'em one afternoon in Regent's Park," remarked
Bindle. "Silly sort o' lot they seemed to me."

"You're nothing but a heathen yourself," accused Mrs. Bindle.

"As long as a cove keeps 'is religion to 'imself, I don't see it
matters to nobody wot 'e thinks, any more than whether 'e wears blue
or pink pants under his trousers."

"Don't be disgusing, Bindle," snapped Mrs. Bindle.

"Disgustin'! what's disgustin'?"

"Talking of what you talked of," replied Mrs. Bindle with asperity.

"Well, I'm blowed!" said Bindle. "There you 'angs 'em on the line on
Mondays for everybody to see, and yet you mustn't talk about 'em;
well, I'm blowed!" he repeated.

"What do they say in the park?" questioned Mrs. Bindle curiously.

"Oh! they says a lot o' things," replied Bindle. "Personally myself I
think the atheists is the funniest. There was one cove there wot was
very thin, and very anxious-looking. Said 'e wouldn't insult 'is
intelligence by believin' the things wot preachers said, so I put a
question to 'im."

"What did you say?" enquired Mrs. Bindle.

"I asks 'im if 'e was quite sure 'e 'ad any intelligence to insult,
an' that made 'em laugh."

Mrs. Bindle nodded her head in approval.

Bindle regarded her in wide-eyed amazement. Never befor