The finishing touch was put to his discomfiture when a
well-meaning friend in a vague and disjointed way advised him to give up
drink, swearing, and any other bad habits which he might have contracted.
[Illustration: "In a pitiable state of 'nerves' he sat at the extreme end
of a bench."]
The committee of the Ancient Order of Camels took the news calmly, and
classed it with pink rats and other abnormalities. In reply to Mrs.
Blows's request for the capital sum, they expressed astonishment that she
could be willing to tear herself away from the hero's grave, and spoke of
the pain which such an act on her part would cause him in the event of
his being conscious of it. In order to show that they were reasonable
men, they allowed her an extra shilling that week.
The hero threw the dole on the bedroom floor, and in a speech bristling
with personalities, consigned the committee to perdition. The
confinement was beginning to tell upon him, and two nights afterward,
just before midnight, he slipped out for a breath of fresh air.
It was a clear night, and all Gravelton with one exception, appeared to
have gone to bed. The exception was Police-constable Collins, and he,
after tracking the skulking figure of Mr.
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