ould sink lower. In the depths of
degradation, what could happen that would sink him lower. A Charlotte
ordered out of a nigger ballroom.

The cold air pierced him more quickly since leaving the ballroom. The
big wood fire influenced him to return to its comforting warmth. By this
time the fire had heated up the room. The heat from the over-heated
revellers, the aroma permeating the atmosphere, was not unfamiliar to
the Colonel's sense of smell yet none the less unpleasant.

It impelled the Colonel to seek fresh air more quickly than the side
remarks had previously. Out in the chilly air he gave way to his
thoughts as before, thoughts tinged with even more bitterness.

The fire had made him more and more susceptible to the cold and it was
not long ere the Colonel started on his way to warm himself again. Sam
met him at the foot of the stairs. Bowing and scraping, he began by
apologizing profusely:

"Cunnel, I declars I hates to tell you all but the gemmen dat runs de
frolik jus tol' me I has to. I'se been pinted a committee to tell you
dey hes made a good hot fire in de back room down stairs fer you. You
kin go in an' warm yerself. Dey all doan wants you to kum in de big room
up stairs eny more. De fak is, de ladies up dar objecks to de oder ob de
stable on yer clothes."

The facts are that a tannery is not as pleasant to the olfactory senses
as Pinaud's perfumes, but Alfred, unlike Col. Charlotte, had exposed
himself to objectionable odors by working over the vats and leather by
day, and thumping the tambourine by night in the big finishing room. But
no complaints ever came to his ears of the unpleasant odor of the
tannery he carried home with him until Lin was discarded by the minstrel
band. Therefore, when the mother, backed by Lin, informed him that he
would have to give up his tan-yard affiliations, the boy felt in his
heart that as in the Colonel's case, it was not the odor but prejudice.

He almost wished he had arranged that Lin might have retained her place
as leader of the singing. But there were other reasons why he was
ordered to leave the tanning business.

The Workman Hotel was but a few steps from the old tannery. The new
landlord was giving the place a cleaning up. Cal Wyatt, the son of the
hotel man, came over to the tannery and requested Alfred, John Caldman,
Vince Carpenter and several others to go over during the noon hour to
the cellar and give them a hand in stacking up sundry barrels and ke