icks, and the violent exercise which he had to take put
him into excellent training. Moreover, some cousins of the Bulls showed
a very proper family spirit, and sent the eldest son, Larry, to help Mr.
Atkins. So, what with Thomas being, so to speak, a new man, and Larry
being very strong and active, and the shopboy coming out to lend a hand
when required, the three between them began to turn the tables. They
caught two or three of the marauders at last, and had them locked up; and
I sincerely hope and trust that they will do the same with all the rest
very soon. This seems to have produced a great change in the sentiments
of Mr. Bull's fellow-citizens. Muller is not nearly so contemptuous as
he used to be about Atkins; and Dubois, I suppose, has remembered that he
is going to have a big summer sale this year, and that it would be very
embarrassing, under the circumstances, to be embroiled with an
influential person like this brave M. Bull, as he calls him now. Only
Ivanovitch is still very sulky and goes on using violent expressions. I
am afraid there will be trouble yet between my poor friend and the
cornfactor--though goodness knows the town ought to be big enough to hold
both of them. But the fact is they have both got mortgages on a china
shop in the suburbs which is in a bad way financially, and it makes them
as jealous of each other as possible.

Evidently this Hooligan affair is not going to last for ever; and, on the
whole, if things don't get worse, Bull may congratulate himself on having
done pretty well so far. But it has hit him rather hard. What with
buying things for Mr. Atkins and paying him for working overtime, and
having had to put up new fire-proof shutters, and sending out the shopboy
away from his duties to help Atkins and Larry, he has lost a deal of
money, one way and another; and besides, as he is very much afraid of
this kind of thing happening again, it looks as if the whole business of
the shop were going to be put on a different footing. For here is J.
Wellington Bull, who was to have helped behind the counter, going out now
to do watchman's duty with the others; and as likely as not the old man
himself will have to take to patrolling his property instead of looking
after his customers; so that, in all probability, there will be no one
but Mrs. B. to see after the shop. And, as John said to me the other
day, these are no times for leaving a business to be managed by old
women.

H