reported you--Show him this, and he'll know it's all right."

The fat Churchwarden fished in his vest pocket and drew out, between a
fat thumb and a fat forefinger, a round shining piece of metal, and put
it in Freddie's hand. Freddie saw that it was a bright new five-cent
piece, commonly called a nickel. He felt better.

"If you don't meet the Archdeacon between here and Littleback's Tobacco
Shop," went on the Churchwarden, "you don't need to keep it any longer;
I don't care what you do with it then; only not pickles, mind you!"

"No sir," said Freddie.

This was his chance to inquire about Mr. Punch's father and the noises
in the tower, but it was out of his power to stay longer; he was too
glad to escape without being reported; and he accordingly went off down
the street, squeaking worse than ever, and positively hurrying.

CHAPTER IV

IN WHICH MR. HANLON MAKES A GREAT IMPRESSION

Freddie found no one in the Tobacco Shop, so he knocked on the door of
the back room, and it was instantly opened by Mr. Littleback himself;
but a Mr. Littleback so resplendent that Freddie hardly knew him.

The suit of clothes which Mr. Littleback wore was beyond any doubt a
brand new suit. The ground color of it was a rich mauve, if you know
what that is; not exactly purple, nor violet, but somewhere in between;
and up and down and across were stripes of brown, making good-sized
squares all over him; it was extremely beautiful. His collar was a high
white collar, very stiff, and it held up his chin in front like a
whitewashed fence. His necktie was of a pale-blue satin, with little
pink roses painted on it, yes sir, painted! mind you, by hand! It was
not one of those troublesome things that come in a single long piece and
take you hours before the glass to twist and turn over and under before
you can get them to look like a necktie; no indeed; it was far better
than that; it was tied already, by somebody who could do it better than
you ever could, and when you bought it, all you had to do was to put it
on; fasten those two rubber bands behind with a hook, and there you
were; perfect. As to hair, the hand of the barber was yet upon him; his
hair, parted on one side, was of a slickness which his own soap never
could have accomplished; on the wide side, it lay flat down over his
forehead, and there gave a sudden curl backward, like the curve of a
hairpin, but much more graceful; it is only the most studious barbers
who ever