ped him on the back, and,
as he turned round, he found himself face to face with a couple of
seedy-looking gentlemen.

"I perceive," began SONOGUN, "that you hate the world, having suffered
much injustice from it."

"We do; we have!" was the cordial reply.

"I, too," continued SONOGUN, "have many grievances. But tell me who
and what are you?"

"Our names are unknown even to ourselves," replied his new friends,
for friends he felt them to be. "By profession we are industrial
knights. That should be sufficient.

"It is;--more than sufficient," said the proud, honourable young man,
"I will be one of you. We will take it out of the world together."

The bargain thus made was soon ratified. They procured cards, SONOGUN
whistled to his dog _Stray_, and they all set out together to the
nearest railway station to pick up their victims. This is the usual
method, and thus card-sharpers are manufactured.

CHAPTER III.

Nay, this is truth, though heart-strings break,
And youth with gloomy brows hears:--
Howe'er you try, you shall not make
Silk purses out of sows' ears.

W. BRAUN, _Soul-tatters_.

In the present there is absolute redemption. Though a gulf
should yawn, go not you to sleep, but rub your eyes; be up
and doing.--JAKES.

In the meantime, SONOGUN's cousin, ACIS ARRANT, generally known to his
jocular intimates as Knave ARRANT, had been living in luxury with his
cousin's weak mother, whom he had contrived to marry. To effect this,
however, he had been compelled to tear a will into little pieces, and
had, at the same time, ruined that peace of his mind which he often
gave to SONOGUN. The unfortunate consequence was, that SONOGUN did
not value it in the least, and always returned it to him. And thus the
relations of the two men, who should have been friends, the guardian
and the ward, were always on a hostile footing, which only the most
delicate handling could have healed. ACIS was not happy. When his
glass told him he was old, he had no repartee ready, and could only
speculate gloomily on the disagreeable fate which had compelled him
to take part in a modern novel, and had evidently told him off to pass
away into the unseen in Chapter 40.

But, of course, GLADYS and her father, the doctor, knew nothing about
all this. GLADYS always looked happy; her hair, her mouth, her eyes,
her ears, even her little unformed nose, all looked as happy as
possible. She was a pleasant little patent m