e while Dennis realized that he waited in vain for the return
of the foreman, and that, in so far as he was concerned, he was out of a
job.

Dennis had been, at various times in his life, subjected to some rugged
experiences, but could not recall any treatment quite so heartless as
this.

It upset all his calculations.

He must exist somehow between the unhappy realities of the present and
the blissful expectations of the approaching Monday.

He recalled, with the self-accusation of a repentant prodigal, his
needlessly elaborate breakfast, the extravagance of the necktie.

His return led him past the cheap amusement district of the Bowery.

Never had their tawdry invitations seemed so alluring.

By that singular perversity which opens up every suggestion of riotous
expenditure to destitution, the poor fellow felt inclined to indulge
himself regardless.

An obese nymph pictured in the foam of a beer sign, apparently
elaborated with a whitewash brush and finished in the throes of an
epileptic fit, solicited a share of his patronage.

Long rows of slot machines offered all sorts of libidinous suggestions
in placards, which proposed to debauch his morals for a penny a sight.

And with absurd propriety a vender of shoddy jewels presented the chance
of his lifetime in bizarre decoration.

But somehow Dennis reached Broadway at last, and faced the unpleasant
prospect of the next few days with despairing calculation.

As Dennis looked up and down this busy thoroughfare, with its thousands
speeding oppositely in preoccupied interest, as if all that was vital
and worthy was to be found at either extreme of its splendid distances,
he paused for a moment to account his meager finances.

He found that he possessed just four one-dollar bills and about eighty
cents in small change.

Since he was compelled to pay a half dollar each night in advance for
his lodgings, a little over two dollars would remain to him.

With rigid economy and almost miserly abstemiousness this sum would
suffice for his meals, unless he developed a mania for Delmonico's, and
for his carfare, provided he did not venture outside the possibilities
of the elevated.

As he was about to return his resources to his pocket there was a rattle
and clamor up the street, and looking in that direction he beheld a
glittering engine, drawn by a splendid team of white horses, speed along
with plunging dash and portent rumble.

Along the sidewalk directly