eauty chorus!"

Malcolm laughed. He was not a very approachable man, but there was
something about this stranger which broke down all barriers.

"Well, I'm glad I've seen him," said Mr. Cherry Bim again emphatically.
"I wonder what he's done."

Malcolm turned to move off, and the little man followed his example.

"What do you mean--what has he done?" asked the amused Malcolm.

"Oh, nothing," said the other airily, "but I just wondered, that's all."

"I'm glad I've seen them too," said Malcolm; "I nearly missed them. I
was sitting so long over lunch----"

"You're a lucky man," said Mr. Bim.

"To have seen them?"

"No, to have sat over lunch," said Cherry with an inward groan. "My! I'd
like to see what a lunch looks like."

Malcolm looked at the man with a new interest and a new sympathy.

"Broke?" he asked, and the other grinned.

"If I was only broke," he said, "there'd be no trouble. But what's the
matter with me is that there ain't any pieces!"

Cherry Bim noticed the hesitation in Malcolm's face and said:

"I hope you're not worrying about hurting my feelings."

"How?" said the startled Malcolm.

"Why," drawled the other, "if it's among your mind that you'd like to
slip me two dollars and you're afraid of me throwing it at you, why, you
can get that out of your mind straightaway."

Malcolm laughed and handed half a sovereign to the man.

"Go and get something to eat," he said.

"Hold hard," said the other as Malcolm was turning away. "What is your
name?"

"Does that matter?" asked the young man with amusement.

"It matters a lot to me," said the other seriously. "I like to pay back
anything I borrow."

"Hay is my name--Malcolm Hay. It's no use giving you my address, because
I shall be in Russia next week."

"In Russia, eh? That's rum!" Cherry Bim scratched his unshaven chin.
"I'm always meeting Russians."

He looked at the young engineer thoughtfully, then, with a little jerk
of his head and a "So long!" he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

Malcolm looked at his watch. He would try Kensky again, he thought; but
again his mission was fruitless. He might have given up his search for
this will-o'-the-wisp but for the fact that his new employers seemed to
attach considerable importance to his making acquaintance with this
notability of Kieff. He could hardly be out after dinner--he would try
again.

He had dressed for the solitary meal, thinking that, if his quest again
failed, he c