sion, to enjoy the aroma. I do not propose to rebuke
myself for that."

"As you please," returned the other as he replaced the weed in his
pocket. "It is my one indulgence; in other respects I challenge any man
to be more abstemious."

"I have had none," returned Raikes with a rasping lack of emotion, "for
the last ten years. It is too late to begin to cultivate a disability
now."

"You are wrong," replied the Sepoy. "One's attitude cannot be rigid at
all points; that is bad management. The finest tragedy I ever witnessed
was emphasized by the trivialities of the king's jester.

"However," he added, as if in support of his theory, "I can, at least,
trouble you for a match."

While Raikes busied himself in an effort to show the hospitality of the
service indicated, the Sepoy's busy, furtive eyes glanced here and
there about the room with quick, inquiring glances.

At one end a bedstead stood, which an antiquarian would have accepted
gladly as collateral for a loan.

Near-by a wardrobe, equally remote if more decrepit, leaned against the
wall to maintain the balance jeopardized by a missing foot.

One chair, in addition to those occupied by Raikes and his companion,
appeared to extend its worn arms with a weary insistence and dusty
disapproval of their emptiness.

A table, large enough to accommodate a student's lamp, several account
books and a blotting-pad, completed this uninviting galaxy.

To the walls, however, the Sepoy directed his closest scrutiny.

With an incredibly rapid glance he surveyed every possible inch of
space, turning his head cautiously to enable his eyes to penetrate into
the more distant portions.

Presently, after an amount of rummaging altogether disproportionate to
the nature of his quest, Raikes succeeded in finding a lucifer, which
flared with a reluctance characteristic of the surroundings.

The Sepoy, availing himself of its blaze, deposited the remainder of the
stick, with elaborate carefulness, upon the table, as if urged by the
thought that his companion might convert it to further uses.

As Raikes resumed his chair, the Sepoy, recalling his glances from their
mysterious foray, directed them, with curious obliqueness, upon his
companion.

In no instance that Raikes could recall had the Sepoy looked upon him
directly save in fleeting flashes.

At such moments Raikes was conscious of a strange tremor, a vanishing
fascination, that he vainly sought to duplicate by attracti