with some difficulty, his hat.

"Won't you take my seat, madam?" he inquired, with a smile of perfect
courtesy.

The young person was a young person of common-sense and she caught the
situation. She flashed a reassuring glance at Rex, hovering distressed
in the background, and shook her head at Strong politely. "No--no, thank
you," she said; "I think I can find a seat at this end that will do
nicely."

"Madam, I insist," Strong addressed her again earnestly.

"No, really," The young woman was embarrassed, for the eyes of the car
were on her. "Thank you so much," she said finally; "I think I'd better
stay here."

Strong bent over and put a great hand lightly on her arm. "Madam, as
gen'leman I cannot, cannot allow it. Madam, you mush take my seat.
Pleash, madam, do not make scene. 'S pleasure to me, 'sure you--greates'
pleasure," and beneath this courtly urgency the flushed girl walked
shamefacedly the length of the almost empty car, and sat down in
Strong's seat, while that soul of chivalry put his hand through a strap
and so stood till his ministering angel extracted him from the train at
Seventy-second Street.

With a sigh of heartfelt relief, Rex put his arm in the big fellow's at
the foot of the steps. Freedom must now be at hand, for Billy's home
was in a great apartment building not ten minutes' walk away. The
culprit himself seemed to realize that his fling was over.

"Raished Cain t'night, didn' we, ol' pal?" he inquired, and squeezed
Rex's guiding arm with affection. "I'll shay this for you, Rex--you may
be soft-hearted ol' slob, you may be half-witted donkey--I'm not denyin'
all that 'n more, but I'll shay thish--you're the bes' man to go on a
drunk with in--in--in The'logican Sem'nary. I'm not 'xceptin' th'----"

"Shut up, Billy," remarked Rex, not for the first time that night. "I'd
get myself pulled together a bit if I were you," he advised. "You're
going to see your family in a minute."

"M' poor fam'ly!" mourned Strong, shaking his head. "M' poor fam'ly!
Thish'll be awful blow to m' fam'ly, Recky. They all like so mush to see
me sober--always--'s their fad, Recky. Don't blame 'em, Recky, 's
natural to 'em. Some peop' born that way. M' poor fam'ly."

They stood in front of the broad driveway which swept under lofty arches
into the huge apartment house. Strong stopped and gazed upwards
mournfully. "Right up there," he murmured, pointing skywards--"M'
fam'ly." The tears were streaming down his fa