by no means vulgar"...

On he recited, oblivious of all but the charm of the words he uttered,
careful lest a single phrase might pass his lips without its due
measure of expression. He finished in a whisper; his voice full of
emotion and tears glistening in his deep-set eyes, much to the
amazement of the monkey-face upturned to him.

"This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Deep silence followed, until the squeaky voice of little monkey-face
broke through:--

"Ya,--you bet,--me savvy!"

It shattered the spell that was on Langford. He laughed, and grabbed
the parcel from the hand of the little Chinaman. He pulled the string
from it and the paper wrappings, exposing a bloody ox-heart which was
destined never to fulfil the purpose for which it was bought.

Throwing off his sheet cloak, Langford became transformed into a
figure of early history. He held the ox-heart high in the air with his
left hand and struck a soldierly attitude.

He was now the famous Black Douglas of Scotland, fighting his last
fight against the Moors in Spain, with the heart of his beloved dead
monarch, Robert Bruce, in the silver casket in which he had undertaken
to carry it to the Holy Land.

Parrying and thrusting with his imaginary sword, gasping, panting in
assumed exhaustion, staggering, recovering and fighting again, then
feigning wounds of a deadly nature, he threw the ox-heart over the
heads of his gaping spectators toward the door, where it fell at
Phil's feet.

"Onward, brave Heart," he cried, "as thou wert wont to be in the
field. Douglas will follow thee or die."

Then, casting his audience on either side of him, like falling
thistles under a sickle, he sprang toward the exit. When he reached
his objective, he stooped to pick up the ox-heart.

Phil smartly placed his foot on it.

Slowly Jim unbent himself, his eyes travelling from the foot that
dared to interfere with his will, up the leg, body and chest, until at
last they stared into the familiar eyes of his friend, who returned
his stare with cold questioning. Thus they looked at each other for a
moment, then Jim's eyes averted. He turned quickly away and passed
into the darkened roadway.

Phil followed, a short step behind.

Jim heard him and quickened his pace. Phil did likewise. Finally he
broke into a run. Phil responded. He ran till his