"Mr. Rollins," said Dr. Renton, thoroughly disgusted with this man's
brutal indifference, "your lease expires in three days."

"Well, it does. Hope to make a renewal with you, Dr. Renton. Trade's
good here. Shouldn't mind more rent on, if you insist--hope you
won't--if it's anything in reason. Promise sollum, I shan't have no more
fightin' in here. Couldn't help this. Accidents _will_ happen, yo'
know."

"Mr. Rollins, the case is this: if you didn't sell liquor here, you'd
have no murder done in your place--murder, sir. That man was murdered.
It's your fault, and it's mine, too. I ought not to have let you the
place for your business. It _is_ a cursed traffic, and you and I ought
to have found it out long ago. _I_ have. I hope _you_ will. Now, I
advise you, as a friend, to give up selling rum for the future: you see
what it comes to--don't you? At any rate, I will not be responsible for
the outrages that are perpetrated in my building any more--I will not
have liquor sold here. I refuse to renew your lease. In three days you
must move."

"Dr Renton, you hurt my feelin's. Now, how would you--"

"Mr. Rollins, I have spoken to you as a friend, and you have no cause
for pain. You must quit these premises when your lease expires. I'm
sorry I can't make you go before that. Make no appeals to me, if you
please. I am fixed. Now, sir, good-night."

The curtain was pulled up, and Rollins rolled over to his beloved bar,
soothing his lacerated feelings by swearing like a pirate, while Dr.
Renton strode to the door, and went into the street, homeward.

He walked fast through the magical moonlight, with a strange feeling of
sternness, and tenderness, and weariness, in his mind. In this mood, the
sensation of spiritual and physical fatigue gaming on him, but a quiet
moonlight in all his reveries, he reached his house. He was just putting
his latch-key in the door, when it was opened by James, who stared at
him for a second, and then dropped his eyes, and put his hand before his
nose. Dr. Renton compressed his lips on an involuntary smile.

"Ah! James, you're up late. It's near one."

"I sat up for Mrs. Renton and the young lady, sir. They're just come,
and gone up stairs."

"All right, James. Take your lamp and come in here. I've got something
to say to you." The man followed him into the library at once, with some
wonder on his sleepy face.

"First, put some coal on that fire, and light the chandelier. I shall
not go u