om
for the street, in the entrance to the hall, some young fellow spoke to
him.

"W'y didn't yuh go in an' get 'im when yuh 'ad 'im?" the young fellow
asked.

"Aw, go to hell!" said Tom King, and passed down the steps to the
sidewalk.

The doors of the public-house at the corner were swinging wide, and
he saw the lights and the smiling barmaids, heard the many voices
discussing the fight and the prosperous chink of money on the bar.
Somebody called to him to have a drink. He hesitated perceptibly, then
refused and went on his way.

He had not a copper in his pocket, and the two-mile walk home seemed
very long. He was certainly getting old. Crossing the Domain, he sat
down suddenly on a bench, unnerved by the thought of the missus sitting
up for him, waiting to learn the outcome of the fight. That was harder
than any knockout, and it seemed almost impossible to face.

He felt weak and sore, and the pain of his smashed knuckles warned him
that, even if he could find a job at navvy work, it would be a week
before he could grip a pick handle or a shovel. The hunger palpitation
at the pit of the stomach was sickening. His wretchedness overwhelmed
him, and into his eyes came an unwonted moisture. He covered his face
with his hands, and, as he cried, he remembered Stowsher Bill and how
he had served him that night in the long ago. Poor old Stowsher Bill!
He could understand now why Bill had cried in the dressing-room.

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