Evening star., 1898-10-22

OXiey said. in mis- slow, quiet manner, dS
he smoked with his two friends after
luncheon at the club. II could not attend
the meeting. but 1 hear that the affairs
showed badly.
Yes. We took the sum he offered. and. of
course. il would have done no good to put
him in the bankruptcy court. as far as the
dividend is concerned. Very likely we
should only have netted half crown; but
I had a good mind to refuse compost
ton And in his excitement BeaZley es-
tablished himself for oratorical purposes
on the hearth rug-he mad recently taken 10
municipal politics.
You mean that HatChard has acted fool
ishIy. and ought not to have got into such
hole. l suppose you are right. Tommy
was always d sangUiue chap
''SarguiHc has nothing to DO with II, Ok
ley. aud l fancy you know that there's
more than want of judgment at Hatchard's
door. or course. the lodEest-headed mel
in the corn market may make mistake
and be caught by a falling market. but that
is no reason why fellow should take in
every friend Ee could lay hands on. W hat
do you say Macfarlane?"
That most phlegmatic and silent of Scots
never said anything unless speech was alb
sclutely necessary, and as the proposition
that ought not to cheat his friends
was one DO person could deny, Macfarlane
gave no sign
I'm afraid that ii is d rather bad case,
Oxley admitted with reluctance, but I'm
sorry for Tommy. when a man is at his
wits end hes apt to-forset himself, in
fact, and do things he would be the first to
condemn at other times. a man loses his
moral presence OF mind
A..catTiane indicated, after consideration,
his agreement
That sounds very fine Oxley,' burst in
Bedz!vy, nut it's very dangerous doctrine,
anu would cover some curious transactions.
IdtChard knew quite well that when he
was hDprIeSsIy bankrupt ne ought not to
have borrowed Il thousand from YOU and
i've hundred from Macfarane and me: our
business losses were enough.
HSd none, murmureu Macfarlane TO
himself
i was 50 angry continued Beazley,
that | got hold of him atterward III Fen
WICK street and gave him sound a talk
ing 10 as ever a man got il this city; he'll
not forget il in a hurry. You see he is a
friend. and that makes me sore"
can you give US idea what you said?''
inquired GXlty. dryly. while Macfarlane
showed that he was listening.
We'll, | said various things but the gist
was that his friends We're ashamed of him
not about the cash, you know, but about
the conduct, and that he was little better
than q sWIndler; yes, l did"
AacfdrldHe smoked furiously.
No. tXlty. ne made NJ reply. Not one
word OF defense; he simply turned round
and walked away. l suppose you think
that | ought not to have been so hard on
him?"
Well. no doubt you did what seemed
right. and Hatchard has not been quite
straight; but | now understand what |
saw two nours ago. and what gave me a
shock You favored him with your mind
about H. ! should guess? Yes: then at Il
ne came out of a restaurant in Dale street
as If he had been drinking That is the
first time HatChard ever did that kind Of
thing l believe. but It will not be the last
His face was quite changed-half woebe-
gone and half desperate
If Thomas takes to Observation-Disclosures
tane was much mOved-'its ) all over with
aim. He's such a soft-hearted chap"
Nonsense. you're making too much of
9: but / was tr:fe sharp. perhaps. He's
zen very provoking. and any other man
would have said the same except you two
fellows, and the one Of you is 50 charitable.
That he would find an excuse for a pick
pocket. and the other is so cannie that Re
can't make up his mind to say anything
After which there was q pause
Yes. began OXley again, falling into
ancient history. he has gone off form Il bit
the best may do so at a time-but Tommy
wasn't half a bad fellow once: he got a
study at Soundbergh before me. and he
was very decent with it. letting me do
prep in it before exams: and l never
counted him sidey. did YOU B. ?"
should think not: IN say that for him
at any rate. there wasn't one scrap of
humbuS in Tommy: why. he was a perfect
when / was in the fourth, and he didn't
mind although chap ragged and cha fled
MIN; ne was the jolliest pre- in the whole
Schpoi- 1t was perhaps rather hard lines
To slang MIN today half wish | hadn't"
If Tommy got grub box from home
every chap in Buttery's house knew
ONiey was bent on reminiscences-'.it was
SHARED round in three days. and his rasp-
berry jam was not TO be despised I hear
MIN yet: All right. OK, dig in. there's lots
left Now, there's ByIes, who makes
speeches about hospitals he was mean if
you please
Mean amt the word for Ryles." and in
his enthusiasm Freddie Beazley dropped in
TO school slang which no public schnoIbuy
ever forgets. and which lasts from pena-l
tl"n 70 generation, like the speech OF the
sIpsies- byles was a beastly gut and a
sheak too; why, for ali his cheek now he
Ism tt TO black Tommys shoes Tommy
WASH what you would call pie but he
was as straight as die. Ia give f1O not
T. have called him that word today"
FREDDIE was breaking down.
Poor old Tommy went on Oxley. One
never expected him to come such a crop
ptr. lie was good alI-around man
FOR his hoIse- He was double-coIor man =
Do V mind the ten miles. lads?" and
MacfariaHe ChUckled-
Rather. ana Freddie cnfld not sit still
He d-d it in l hour II minutes and was ii
Thirteen and three-ffths seconds Mac
farane spoke with decision
And he could have walked back 70 p,,.
tcry's- as If he had never run q vard. b,,t
cidn IN fellows carry him.
= had a leg myself" Macfarlane was
growing loquaciou
,.., IS. and he didn't swasger or brae about
it-oNIey took up the ruuning-.'not br
but WaS Just as civil as if he had won SOM
footing ltttle race at the low coun+r1
schools. where they haven't hill within
twenty miles instead of running round
BaIEhfell in the Soundbcrg ten mile
What did old Tommy do it for2' AVID
Freddie Beazley almost wept al the thought
that thc crack Of Soundberg had played
foul: lit couldn't be money; he was never
sfihsh-as open-handed d chap as ever
saw"
Wife and kids" answered Macfarlaue
smoking thoughtfuly.
The Scot has it, said Oxley. Tommy
doesn't care one straw for himself but he
wanted. ! take il. to keep that dear lirtle
vile 0f his comfortable and get a good edu-
cation for his boys. and he got deeuer
and deeper, trying to retrieve himself for
Their sakes- Mind you. l don't defend him
pf' that was his excuse; ard now Tommy
has gone under"
Not II can help it, boys" and Beazley's
lace flushed. And l say, here are three OF
2s, why shouldn't we join and-and-tight.
Pm ne rope and haul Tommy on his feet
Igaiu1''
Macfarlane took the briar root out of his
mouth and regarded Freddie with admira-