ter or qualification of any kind. Hither came those
who, through drink, or idleness, or sheer misfortune, had got right
down to the foot of the social ladder; waiting patiently in the dim
hope that some extra pressure of work inside would occur to give them
an hour or two's employment. Well, he did not hesitate long. He
seized a moment when the attention of these poor devils had been
attracted by some sound to the other side of the grating (where the
foreman was expected to appear), and glided in among the group, hoping
to be unperceived.

But what sharp eyes hunger makes! They had no sooner turned hopelessly
away again, than every man and lad of them caught sight of the
stranger. They did not resent his intrusion. They regarded him with
curiosity, and with apathy. He looked well-to-do for that kind of
work. Perhaps if he were one of the lucky ones, he would stand a pot
of beer on coming out in the afternoon.

But to their great astonishment, they were all to be lucky ones that
morning. The foreman appeared, ran his eye over the group, and engaged
the whole of them for the day,--all, except one dazed, drunken-looking
tatterdemalion of sixty or so, whom he warned off by name. Almost
before he knew where he was, John Douglas found himself at work in the
docks, at fivepence an hour.

CHAPTER V.

TREASURE TROVE.

The work was very easy, it seemed to him. What it might be in the
warehouses he knew not; but here his business was simply to haul a
small and light truck, carrying two boxes of oranges, from the
unloading steamer along the side of the basin to the barge which was
receiving them. The work was light, and there were pauses; moreover,
the snow had ceased, and the surroundings--the ships and barges and
what not--were picturesque enough; the scent of the oranges was
pleasant. And his companions, these poor wrecks of humanity who had
drifted into this curious, quiet little pool, were in the main
good-humoured, though most of them seemed too depressed to speak much.
Of course they instantly called him 'Scottie.' Scottie got through his
short day's work with satisfaction; and when at four o'clock the great
bell began to toll, and when his wages, two shillings and a penny, were
paid him, and when he set out for the gate, he was much contented, and
was considering that, if he did his work diligently and respectfully
and in silence, it was not at all unlikely that the foreman would take
him on as a