the table; the well-dressed man and his ragged companion stretched
themselves upon their former hard couch; and Ragged Pete ensconced
himself in the fireplace, with his head buried in the ashes and his
heels up the chimney, in which comfortable position he vainly essay'd to
sing a sentimental song, wherein he [_illegible word_] to deplore the
loss of his 'own true love.' (The only sober persons were the stranger,
the young thief and the Irish landlord.) The two former of these, seated
in one corner, conversed together in low whispers.

'See here, young feller,' said the stranger--'I've taken a fancy to them
two letters, and if you'll let me keep 'em, here's a dollar for you.'
The boy readily agreed, and the other continued:

'I say, there's a rum set o' coves in this here crib, ain't there? Who
is that well-dressed chap on the table?'

'That,' said the boy, 'is a thief who lately made a large haul, since
which time he has been cutting a tremendous swell--but he spent the
whole thousand dollars in two or three weeks, and his fine clothes is
all that remains. In less than a week he will look as bad as Ragged
Pete.'

'And what kind of a cove is the landlord, Bloody Mike?' asked the
stranger.

'He is the best friend a fellow has in the world, as long as his money
lasts,' replied the boy. 'The moment that is gone, he don't know you.
Now you'll see in a few moments how he'll clear everybody out of the
house except such as he thinks has money. And, 'twixt you and me, he is
the d----dst scoundrel out of jail, and would as lief kill a man as
not.'

At this moment, Bloody Mike came from behind the counter and took a
general survey of the whole party. At length his eye settled upon the
form of Ragged Pete, in the fireplace; muttering something about
'pinnyless loafers,' he seized that individual by the heels, and
dragging him to the door, opened it, and thrust the poor wretch forth
into the deep snow and pelting storm! All the rest with the exception of
the stranger, the boy thief, and the well dressed man, shared the same
fate. But Mike was not done yet; he swore that the well dressed
personage should pay for his lodgings, and deliberately he stripped the
man of his coat, vest and boots, after which summary proceeding he
ejected him from the house, as he had the others.

'Suppose we take up our quarters in some other 'crib',' whispered the
boy to the stranger; the latter assented, and they both arose to depart.
The landl