capita_. Marcus had not noticed it, and Tiffles was far too generous to
make a fuss about a few shillings.

Then a party of six flashily dressed young men, who threw away their
cigars as they came up stairs, and thrust their quarters through the
pigeon hole at Marcus Wilkeson, as if they were good for nothing--which
proved to be true of two of them. Being informed of the fact by Marcus,
the owners of the counterfeits winked at each other, and whispered, "No
go," and then offered a broken bill on a Connecticut bank. This also
proved "no go," whereat the sharp practitioners winked again and
laughed, and this time paid out good current coin. These were some of
the fast men of the village. They took seats behind the female seminary.

Luck changed again, and brought in the landlord, Mr. Persimmon, P.M.,
Mr. Boolpin, and three more free tickets, with their wives and families.
Mr. Boolpin whispered in Tiffles's ear, that he hoped there wouldn't be
a row; but it was a hard-looking crowd that had just gone in ahead of
him. And there were plenty more of them coming.

The latter observation proved true. The next minute, the stairs swarmed
with a jovial party, under the leadership of a gorgeous person, who wore
in the middle of his snowy shirt front a cluster diamond pin larger than
a ten-cent piece. This was one of the gentlemanly conductors on the
railroad; and the mixed company which he had the honor to command, was
composed of ticket sellers, freight masters, brakemen, civil engineers,
and clerks of liberal dispositions and small salaries in various walks
of life. The party was slightly drunk, but not offensive. The
gentlemanly conductor paid for himself and associates out of a huge side
pocket full of loose silver. They rolled up the hall, and took the
nearest spare seats to the female seminary.

Seven and three quarters P.M. arrived. The people in the hall began to
stamp with a noise like thunder. Tiffles had marked the heavy boots of
the conductor, and could recognize them in the din. Several deep hisses
varied the monotony of the performance. There were no persons coming up
stairs. The small boys, Tiffles observed with astonishment, had vacated
the building some time before, and could now be heard whispering quietly
around the door below.

CHAPTER VI.

HUMOUS OF THE MANY-HEADED.

Tiffles knew that his time had come, and he accepted the crisis.

Requesting Marcus to pocket the funds, shut up the shop, and leave t