reatening: it meant
disaster, certain ruin, the disbanding of his troupe, his contracts
canceled. He seethed with indignation; or else, in despair, felt like
taking Lily in his arms, seating her on his knee, begging her to tell him
that it was all a nightmare, that she would never marry, never marry that
Trampy: his good little Lily ... whom her Pa would cover with diamonds!
She should have all she wished, and everything, if only she would assure
him that it was not true that Trampy, that ungrateful cur, whom he, Pa,
had picked out of the gutter, was going to steal his Lily! That damned Jim
Crow! Pa, in his fury, bought a revolver to scatter the footy rotter's
brains with, but Trampy received the tip from Tom and vanished, hey,
presto, leaving no trace, allowing no sign of himself to crop up anywhere.
Pa's rage was vented on his daughter.

Happily for her, Lily now was a model of conduct. She felt thoroughly
calm. Peace seemed to reign in the house. Lily was such a gentle little
thing! One day--the very day on which Tom passed her a note from Trampy
and she made a package of her new dress and of her photographs, and
souvenirs--that evening, as she kissed her father and mother, tears came
to her eyes. Then, instead of going to the kitchen, she fetched her
bundle, stealthily opened the street-door and ran to the corner, where
Trampy was waiting in a hansom, and hi, off for the holidays, the
champagne, the long-dreamed-of Paradise!

PLAYING 'EM IN

I

They were seated on the basket trunk marked, "Trampy Wheel-Pad," in big
black letters. The steamer had left Harwich and was making for Holland.
The English coast was disappearing in the mist. On the deck, a heap of
luggage and parcels made a sort of nest for them. Trampy, with his dear
little wife by his side, was thinking of the future ... so many things
which he had flashed before Lily's eyes and which he could not give her
... not directly, at least ... but, pooh, she'd get used to it by degrees.
The great thing, to Trampy, was that he had his Lily! He was going to
stuff himself to the throat with love and, first of all, to seek a shelter
for his sweet wife and himself. England was no place for them. Pa was
prowling round and Jimmy, too. Once their anger was over and they found
themselves face to face with the irreparable, everything would calm down;
meantime, the wisest thing for Trampy and Lily was to be prudent and run
away as fast as they could. Trampy had