s most sensible advice. After Fonnac's
death his building went into retirement, so to speak; fashion minced
off in another direction and left it to its grief, so now, at the
remove of some fifteen years, Steve Loveland obtained the rental of
the attic for a mere song, and here he cast his lot, for he was his
own housekeeper. A few screens skillfully arranged reduced the
apparent size of the apartment; some old-fashioned furniture his
mother spared him made it homelike and comfortable; an air-tight stove
on the one side (there were two chimneys) held Boreas at bay, while on
the other a little basket grate of coals, setting like a ruddy gem in
the center of the ample fireplace, was at once an element of good
cheer and a respecter of the law of economy.

On this particular evening the cronies sat in their accustomed places
within the fireplace, one on either side; a little stand, on which
were set a couple of plates of crackers and cheese, stood near by, and
a pot of oysters, cheerily simmering, hung from the crane above the
fire.

Randolph was silent; so was Steve--the latter never talked; in place
of words he used the poker--not in any fiendish way; heaven forbid!
but in a mild, unobtrusive manner, intelligible only to himself and
Randolph. In this system of fireworks stenography, so to speak, a
series of slow, deliberate pokes under the fire implied contemplation;
poking down from above stood for disagreement; while thrusts of the
poker between the ribs of the grate expressed sympathy or agitation.

"Steve," said Randolph--his chair was tilted against the brick side
wall of the chimney, and he was leaning back, with his hands clasped
behind his head--"I tell you she's a pretty nice girl; an awfully
sensible girl; one of the kind that sets your brain to jogging. It's
easy to talk to her, she's so suggestive, wide awake, and at the same
time she's restful, too. She's none of your hoity-toity characters,
one thing one day and another the next, so you never know where you
stand with them. You can feel secure with her. I feel as if I had
known her all my life; there's the most perfect understanding between
us; we don't have to talk; I think she knows my thoughts, and I'm
certain I know hers. Awfully nice girl; one of the nicest I ever
knew."

"Must be," said Steve gently.

After this there was some talk of a desultory sort, some solicitous
watching of the oysters that were singing softly preparatory to
boiling, and th