all his score of years of wandering and studying so the benefit of the doubt conditions over the world he had carried with him the memory of his old town as a sweet and wholesome place the he now beheld was startling he certainly must continue his stroll and glimpse the to which his town had descended another thing had a keen social and consciousness wealthy he had been to his energies in the pink and dinners of society while race horses and kindred had left him cold he had the bee in his bonnet and was a of no mean though his work had been mainly in the line of to the heavier and and to the publication over his name of brightly cleverly written books on the working classes and the among the twenty seven to his credit occurred titles such as if christ came to new the reform in the rural of england the people of the east side reform revolution the university settlement as a hot bed of and the cave man of civilization the benefit of the doubt but was neither morbid nor he did not lose his head over the horrors he encountered studied and exposed no enthusiasm him his humor saved him as did his wide experience and his philosophic temperament nor did he have any patience with lightning change reform as he saw it society would grow better only through the painfully slow and painful processes of there were no short cuts no sudden the of mankind must be worked out in agony and misery just as all past social had been worked out but on this late summer af was curious as he moved along he paused before a gaudy drinking place the sign above read the there were two one evidently led to the bar this he did not explore the other was a narrow passing through this he found himself in a huge room filled with chair encircled tables and quite deserted in the dim light he made out a piano in the distance making a mental note that be would come back some time and study the of persons that must sit and drink at those the benefit of the doubt tables he proceeded to the room now at the rear a short led oflf to a small kitchen and here at a table alone sat proprietor of the a hasty supper ere the evening rush of business also was angry with the world he had got out of the wrong side of bed that morning and nothing had gone right all day had his been asked they would have described his mental condition as a but did not know this as he passed the little s sullen eyes lighted on the magazine he carried under his arm did not know nor did he know that what he carried imder his arm was a magazine out of the depths of his decided that this stranger was one of those who and the walls of his back rooms by up or up the color on the front cover of the magazine convinced him that it was such an advertisement thus the trouble began knife and fork in hand leaped for out know yer game the benefit of the doubt was startled the man had upon him like the of a jack in a me walls cried at the same time a string of vivid and vile rather of if i have given any i did not mean but that was as far as the visitor got interrupted get out talk much yer mouth quoted his remarks with of the knife and fork caught a quick vision of that eating fork inserted between his ribs knew that it would be rash to talk further with his mouth and promptly to go the sight of his meekly retreating back must have further enraged for that worthy dropping the table implements sprang upon him weighed one hundred and eighty so did in this they were equal but was a rushing rough and tumble while was a in this the latter had the advantage for came in wide open swinging his right in a perilous sweep all the benefit of the doubt had to do was to straight left him and escape but had another advantage his and his experience in the and of the world had taught him restraint he on his feet and instead of striking the other s swinging blow and went into a but charging like a bull had the of his rush while whirling to meet him had no as a result the pair of them went down with all their three hundred and sixty pounds of weight in a long crashing fall he lay with his head touching the rear wall of the large room the street was a and fifty feet away and he did some quick thinking his first thought was to avoid trouble he had no wish to get into the papers of this his childhood town where many of his relatives and family friends still lived so it was that he locked his around the man on top of him held him close and waited for the help to come that must come in response to the crash of the fall the help came � that is six men ran in from the bar and formed about in a semi circle take him off fellows said i the benefit of the doubt have n t struck him and i don t want any fight but the semi circle remained silent held on and waited after various vain efforts to inflict damage made an o me an i get off o said he let go but when scrambled to his feet he stood over his foe ready to � strike up commanded his voice was stem and like the voice of god calling to judgment and there was no mercy there stand back and 