The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-11-06

spite of all their gas about it." Then. ere his comrades had fairly missed him, he once more joined their ranks. . ''Who do you think I met just now coming out of the White Hartg old Wall Yes--looking as fit as fiddle and jolly glad, he said, to be safe home in dear old Medford."
 They loved Medford. Away from it they pined; nostalgia longfngs made them restless and uneasy even during the course of a day in London, and they found 1t painful to walt for the ap- pointed return train. It was never the last train of all. When safe in Ned ford they felt at peace; time and the years could not touch them; the long. easeful, loafing days glided by and there was no need to count them.
 In heart and mind they never grew up. They were young men always with the boyish immature thoughts un- changed, the youthful foolish cravings never satiated. The very young men played games-golf, cricket lawn ten his, even croquet The older young men watched the games. They had not become weslrJ of games. Only laziness made them onlookers rather than per- formers. But for the flag of the thing. they would have been willing to spin tops or blow ap-bubbies. When it same to loafing they were all one-old and young--boys together.
 Thus. indolent. good-natured Mir. Vincent, of Hill House--the prince of the loafers--was getting on for thirty. MT. Page and Mir Granville were under twenty. Mir. Lardner--of the puffy, white face--who had thrice suffered eclipse in a home for young gentlemen who take too much whiskey and soda, was forty. Yet his diurnal bliss was unabated as with slow footsteps he sauntered towards the railway sta ton to procure an illustrated sporting paper, paused as of yore at the famil- far corner in High Street to wave his hat to the upper window where Sel- kirk's work-girls stood grinning. or sat himself down in the railway re- freshment room and gulped his favor tte beverage. Rr. Ridgworth was near ar fifty than forty; he was red and fat and bald; he knew the meaning of gout and rheumatism; and yet. at sight of two well-powdered. drab-complex- toned, draggle-tailed chorus girls of a z company newly arrived, he would start from the tobacconist's corner from which he had been lo1ling and sally forth in pursuit with ali the keenness of callow youth for the stale old cheese.
 Marked 'em down." he would report. when in half an hour he returned to the tobacco shop to resume his chat [ with the tobacconist and another lol- ling customer. Marked 'em down to their dfggjn's--No. 3 Bridge Terrace. l don't say they're all right. That I can't esay But" added MT. Ridgworth. who was old enough to know so very much better, but I mean to follow it up Let's you and go to the theatre this evening-eh, dear boy?"
 They used the tobacconist's shop al- most as club, and preferred it to the real club on the other side of the street This was, in fact, dingy, uu- inviting mansion. The plate glass win dows were suggestive of the tanks fin an aquarium; the brown metal gauge across the lower part of each window looked like the water in the tank: and the club members were just like stupid old i1sh coming against the glass while you watched. No, the young bloods did not bother themselves to belong to this stupid tankish establishment. Rudd, the tobacconist. and the White Hart Hotel were the clubs for them (Continued TomOrrowo