Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1893-02-10

"How is he to know He doesn't
wind it up for you at night, does hep"
inquired Alan, at which John
guffawed. mo, seriously; am in a
fix," continued the tempter. al have
lost some money to man here. I'll
give it you tonight, and you can get
the heirloom out again on Monday,
Come; it's small service after all. l
would do good deal more for YOU"
Whereupon John went forth, and
pawned his gold watch under the as
sumed name Of John Froggs, 85 Pleas
ance. But the nervousness that as
sailed him at the door of that inglo-
rious haunt-a pawnshop-and the
effort necessary to invent the pseu-
donym (Which, somehow seemed to
him a necessary part Of the proce-
dure), had taken more time than he
imagined; and when he returned to
the billiard room with the spoils, the
bank had already closed its doors.
This was a shrewd knock. "a
piece of business had been neglected"
He heard these words in his fathers
trenchant voice, and trembled, and
then lodged the thought. After all,
who was to knowp He must carry
e400 about with him till Monday,
when the neglect could be surrepti-
tiously repaired; and meanwhile, he
was free to pass the afternoon on the
encircling divan of the billiard room,
smoking his pipe, slipping a pint OF
ale, and enjoying to the masthead the
modest pleasures of admiration.
None can admire like a young
man. OF all youths passions and
pleasures, this is the most
common and least alleged and
every fash of Alan's black eyes; every
aspect of his curly head; every grace
full reach, every easy, stand-off atti-
tnde of waiting; ay, and down to his
shirt sleeves and wrist links, were
seen by John through a luxurious
glory. He valued himself by the pos
session of that royal friend, Rugged
himself upon the thought, and swan
in warm azure; his own defects, like
vanquished difficulties, becoming
things on which to plume himself.
Only when he thought of Miss Mac
ksnzie there fell upon his mind a
shadow of regret; that young lady
was worthy of better things than plain
John Nicholson, still known among
schoolmates by the derisive name of
Fatty" and he felt, if he could chalk
a cue, or stand at ease, with such a
careless grace as Alan, he could APP
proach the object of his sentiments
with q less crushing sense Of infe-
riority.
Before they parted, Alan made a
proposal that was startling in the
extreme. He would be at Colette's
that night about twelve, he said.
Why should not John come there and
get the money? To go to Colette's
was to see life, indeed; it was wrong
1t was against the laws; it partook,
in very dingy manner, of adventure.
We're it known, it was the sort of ex-
plot that disconsidered a young man
for good with the more serious
classes, but gave him a standing with
the riotous. And yet Colette's was
not hell; it could not come, without
waiting hyperbole, under the rubric
OF gilded saloon; and if it was sin to
go there, the sin was merely local and
municipal. Colette (whose name / do
not know how to spell, for was new
er in epistolary communication with
that hospitable outlaw was simply
an unlicensed publican, who gave
suppers after eleven at night, the
Edinburgh hour of closing. If you
belonged to club, you could get a
much better supper at the same hour,
and lose not jot in public esteem.
But il you lacked that qualification
and were an hungered, or inclined to-
ward conviviality at unlawful hours,
Colette's was your only port You
were very ill-supplied. The company
was not recruited from the senate or
the church, though the bar was very
we'll represented on the only occasion
on which l few in the face of my
country's laws, and, taking my repu.
tation in my hand, penetrated into
that grim supper-house. And Co
lette's frequenters, thrillingly con.
SClOuS VI WIOuS -uOlllB anu 'Judt JWO'
handed engine (the policeman at the
door," were perhaps inclined to some
what feverish excess. But the place
was in no sense very bad one; and il
is somewhat strange to me, at this
distance of time, how it had acquired
its dangerous repute.
In precisely the same spirit as o
man may debate project to ascend
the Matterhorn or to cross Africa,
John considered Alan's proposal, and,
greatly daring, accepted it. AS he
walked home, the thoughts of this
excursion out of the safe places Of
life into the wild and arduous, stirred
and struggled in his imagination with
the image OF Miss Mackenzie-incon.
gruous and yet kindred thoughts, for
did not each imply unusual tighten.
ing of the pegs of resolution did not
each woo him forth and warn him
back again into HIMSELF
Between these two considerations
at least, he was more than usually
moved; and when he got to Randolph
Crescent, he quite forgot the -four
Inpdrad ronrpdo In tho ipnar poolxai