on!" said Joe, rising and leading the bar-tender
aside. They whispered together for a few moments and then returned.

"It's all right," said Joe. "You're to pay him what money you have,
and he's to charge the remainder on my bill. I'll stand the rest of it
for you.

"I'll be that precious 'friend in need,'
Who proves himself a friend indeed."

"Then," said Ralph, "I won't have any money left to pay my fare back
home."

"Oh, I'll see to that!" exclaimed Joe. "I invited you to ride up with
me, didn't I? and of course I'll pay your fare; _das verstekt sich_;
that goes without saying.

"I'll never desert you, oh, never! he spake,
We'll stand by each other, asleep or awake."

It was not without much misgiving that Ralph gave the dollar and
eighty-two cents to the bar-tender, and returned the empty wallet to
his pocket. But Rhyming Joe soon engaged him again in conversation.
The young man seemed to be deeply interested in the movement to
restore the boy to his family rights and possessions. He asked
many questions about it, about Craft, about Sharpman, about Ralph's
knowledge of himself; the whole ground, indeed, was gone over
carefully from the beginning to the present; even the probabilities of
the future were fully discussed.

In the meantime, the liquor in the bottle was steadily diminishing in
quantity, as a result of Rhyming Joe's constant attention to it, and
Ralph thought he began to detect evidences of intoxication in the
speech and conduct of his friend. His nose appeared to be getting
redder, his eyelids were drooping, he was sinking lower into his
chair, his utterance was growing thick, and his voice had a sleepy
tone.

Ralph, too, felt sleepy. The excitement and exercise of the morning,
the hearty dinner, the warm, close room, and the fumes of alcohol in
the atmosphere, were all having their effect on his senses. He saw,
dimly, that Joe's chin was resting on his breast and that his eyes
were closed; he heard him mutter in a voice that seemed to come from
some distant room:--

"Of all 'e bowls I s-s-smell or see,
The wassail bowl's 'e bowl f-f-for me,"

and the next moment both man and boy were fast asleep.

CHAPTER VIII.

A FRIEND IN NEED.

When Ralph awoke, it was quite dark in the room. He was still sitting
at the round table, but Rhyming Joe had disappeared from the other
side of it. He looked around the room, and saw that an oil-lamp was
burning behind the bar, and that