digestion
could also rest from its labours, he lighted a pipe slowly and
then--afraid to sit down, lest he should fall asleep--leaned his tired
back against a side of the enormous fireplace and folded his arms.

It is probable that the chamber which his eyes surveyed was more than
four hundred years old. That it was at once his hall, kitchen, and
parlour, is undeniable. One small stout wall contained the front door
and the window, a third part of which could be induced to open, but was
to-night fast shut. Another hoisted the breakneck staircase which led
to the room above. A third stood blank, while the fourth was just wide
enough to frame the tremendous fireplace, which, with its two
chimney-corners, made up a bay nearly one half the size of the little
room it served. The ceiling, itself none too high, was heavy with
punishing beams, so that a tall man must pick and choose his station if
he would stand upright; and the floor was of soft red brick, a little
sunken in places, but, on the whole, well and truly laid.

A cupboard under the stairs served as a larder and store-room; a flap
beneath the window made a firm table; in spite of their age, a Windsor
and a basket chair, when called upon, satisfactorily discharged the
duties for which they were contrived. A battered foot-bath did more.
In a word, it received platters and knives and forks which needed
cleansing, and in due season delivered them cleansed; of a Sunday
morning it became a terrier's tub; and upon one afternoon in the week a
vessel in which clothes were washed.

Since this was all the furniture, the place looked bare. As a
living-room it left much to be desired; but, since Major Anthony
Lyveden did not live in it, that did not trouble him. He used the
room, certainly--he was using it now; nightly he slept above it--but he
lived in the open air.

This was patent from the look of him.

Wind, rain, and sun set upon their favourites a mark which there is no
mistaking. Under the treatment of these three bluff specialists the
handsome face had in a short month become a picture. In all his life
the ex-officer had never looked so well.

It was when he had given his late master notice and had twenty-one
pounds in the world that Lyveden had seen the advertisement--

_A solitary existence, hard work, long hours, L3 a week, fuel, a
bachelor's unfurnished lodging, and an open-air life is offered to an
ex-officer: the job has been considered and abusive