ance not
unlike that of the sapphire upon which the miser had been engaged during
the whole of this singular narrative.

"That is a weird tale," he said at last. "Why do you pause at such a
point? What is the conclusion?"

"That is some distance away yet," replied the Sepoy. "If you care to
continue, I will resume the thread at this time to-morrow evening."

"Very well," answered Raikes with some impatience, "I will be here. I
must, at least, congratulate you upon your observance of the
proprieties in tale-telling; you manage to pause at the proper places."

"You are curious, then, to hear the rest?"

"Naturally," replied Raikes, with the sour candor which distinguished
him. "The situation you describe I can appreciate--the loser confronted
with his loss--and I am to conjecture his attitude until to-morrow
night. Very well, I bid you good evening," and Raikes, with a curt
inclination of the head, which made a travesty of his intention to be
courteous, vanished through the doorway.

* * * * *

(The continuation of this remarkable story will be found on Dickey
Series B, which may be bought from almost any haberdasher.)

* * * * *

As Dennis reached this announcement his head throbbed violently.

He had raced so apace with the movement of the tale that he had not
remarked, in his absorption, an unfamiliar congestion about the base of
his brain.

Directly, however, he was convinced of its disagreeable presence when
this abrupt conclusion, which he had come to expect at the end of each
bosom, materialized to his irritated anticipation.

He was no longer inclined to admire the calculating genius of the
italicized phrase.

A temperance lecture was aching its way through his head. His conscience
seemed to have decided to reside in the pit of his stomach, and a sense
of surrender and defeat humiliated him.

His room looked cell-like.

The arrow pointing to the fire-escape seemed full of menace.

His face, reflected from the dingy glass, had never appeared so ugly and
reproachful.

He needed something to restore his confidence, but was happily unaware
of the nature of the remedy his system demanded.

It was his first offense.

He raised the window for a breath of fresh air, and the roaring street
called him.

There was mockery and invitation in its hubbub. Why not? A little
exercise would bring him around to his point of mo