ir delineation of character. He also went
in for spirit-rapping, greatly to the disgust of the two ancient
housekeepers, who declared that they'd have "no dalins wid him and his
divil's worruk."'

The bricklayer was from the first an object of awe to Malachi, who
carefully avoided him; but one night we got the butt into a room
where the artisan was entertaining the boys with a seance. After
the table-rapping, during which Malachi sat with uncovered head and
awe-struck expression, we proposed that he should have his bumps read,
and before he could make his escape Malachi was seated in a chair in the
middle of the room and the bricklayer was running his fingers over
his head. I really believe that Malachi's hair bristled between the
phrenologist's fingers. Whenever he made a hit his staunch admirer,
"Donegal," would exclaim "Look at that now!" while the girls tittered
and said, "Just fancy!" and from time to time Malachi would be heard
to mutter to himself, in a tone of the most intense conviction, that,
"without the least mistake it was a caution." Several times at his work
the next day Malachi was observed to rest on his spade, while he tilted
his hat forward with one hand and felt the back of his head as though he
had not been previously aware of its existence.

We "ran" Malachi to believe that the bricklayer was mad on the subject
of phrenology, and was suspected of having killed several persons in
order to obtain their skulls for experimental purposes. We further
said that he had been heard to say that Malachi's skull was a most
extraordinary one, and so we advised him to be careful.

Malachi occupied a hut some distance from the station, and one night,
the last night of the bricklayer's stay, as Malachi sat smoking over the
fire the door opened quietly and the phrenologist entered. He carried a
bag with a pumpkin in the bottom of it, and, sitting down on a stool, he
let the bag down with a bump on the floor between his feet. Malachi was
badly scared, but he managed to stammer out--

"'Ello!" "'Ello!" said the phrenologist.

There was an embarrassing silence, which was at last broken by "Bricky"
saying "How are you gettin' on, Malachi?"

"Oh, jist right," replied Malachi.

Nothing was said for a while, until Malachi, after fidgeting a good deal
on his stool, asked the bricklayer when he was leaving the station.

"Oh, I'm going away in the morning, early," said he. "I've jist been
over to Jimmy Nowlett's camp