se and stared out into the darkness. The people on the porch of the
inn were frequently calling, "Good-night! Good-night!"

Hawker said, "And of course he's got train loads of money?"

"You bet he has! He can pave streets with it. Lordie, but this is a
situation!"

A heavy scowl settled upon Hawker's brow, and he kicked at the dressing
case. "Say, Hollie, look here! Sometimes I think you regard me as a bug
and like to see me wriggle. But----"

"Oh, don't be a fool!" said Hollanden, glaring through the smoke. "Under
the circumstances, you are privileged to rave and ramp around like a
wounded lunatic, but for heaven's sake don't swoop down on me like that!
Especially when I'm--when I'm doing all I can for you."

"Doing all you can for me! Nobody asked you to. You talk as if I were an
infant."

"There! That's right! Blaze up like a fire balloon just because I said
that, will you? A man in your condition--why, confound you, you are an
infant!"

Hawker seemed again overwhelmed in a great dislike of himself. "Oh,
well, of course, Hollie, it----" He waved his hand. "A man feels
like--like----"

"Certainly he does," said Hollanden. "That's all right, old man."

"And look now, Hollie, here's this Oglethorpe----"

"May the devil fly away with him!"

"Well, here he is, coming along when I thought maybe--after a while, you
know--I might stand some show. And you are acquainted with him, so give
me a line on him."

"Well, I should advise you to----"

"Blow your advice! I want to hear about Oglethorpe."

"Well, in the first place, he is a rattling good fellow, as I told you
before, and this is what makes it so----"

"Oh, hang what it makes it! Go on."

"He is a rattling good fellow and he has stacks of money. Of course, in
this case his having money doesn't affect the situation much. Miss
Fanhall----"

"Say, can you keep to the thread of the story, you infernal literary
man!"

"Well, he's popular. He don't talk money--ever. And if he's wicked, he's
not sufficiently proud of it to be perpetually describing his sins. And
then he is not so hideously brilliant, either. That's great credit to a
man in these days. And then he--well, take it altogether, I should say
Jem Oglethorpe was a smashing good fellow."

"I wonder how long he is going to stay?" murmured Hawker.

During this conversation his pipe had often died out. It was out at this
time. He lit another match. Hollanden had watched the fingers of his
friend