The Gay Adventure

prophesied great things. His natural gaiety and address were more than enough to carry him over the early stages of acquaintanceship, but subsequent meetings were doomed to end in disillusion. H

actical ... the kind of man who is pop

igh tea. For the benefit of gastronomers it may be stated that it included herrings, a loaf of bread, some butter of repellent aspect, and strawberry jam. Lionel has lighted his pipe and seated himse

t intervals giving vent to a rasping cough or a malignant sniff. Of her presence Lionel seemed oblivious, for he continued sitting with his back to the door, gazing with apparent interest into the street. This, perhaps, was curious, for the street was but a lane with little traffic and no features worthy of note. No

elf for a direct attack. Placing her arms akimbo-an attitude usually denoting truculent defiance or a pleasurable sense of injustice-she pronounced he

he said with careful politene

ng her time to add to her appreciation, Lion

outline of that chimney-pot against the sky. Remark the bold sweep of that piece of spouting-a true secessio

of free-hand drawing in a board school and a study of the colored plates issued by the Christmas

Mr. Mortimer," she s

ess. "How much does it come to? Certain tokens of copper-sil

," snapped Mrs. Barker. After a pause s

My rent, if I please, is one pound, three and sevenpence; and I must admit that the sum is paltry. If I please to exist (and up to the present I have bee

out her hand. Lionel, with an ea

nt I regret to say that my funds do not amount to t

ears. She, it seemed, was a lone widow, earning her bread by the sweat of her brow, and she would not

the pleasing custom in the East) had I the precious ore. But at the moment my capital"-he searched his pockets-"amounts to sixpence ha'penny; hence the deplorable impasse. My profession holds out no prospect of immediate or adequate reward: briefs are lacking and editors slow

g, save that Lionel should pay his rent or leave. The method of raising money

y on myself. But rest assured that you shall be paid. What! I am young and strong; my clothes, thanks to judicious mending and a light

he declared that no such creature should pass her threshold. For fifty years she had lived respect

a. Being, however, the masculine equivalent of that lady of romance (or shall we say, 'Lob Lie-by-the-Fire'?) and out o

n. The landlady, carrying the tray and

ored in quick time and the major clef, a gay lilt of the streets. Modulated by Lionel, under the depressing influence of Mrs. Barker, it became a dirge, incred

nowledge of law. For three years after taking his degree he had led a pleasant life, eating dinners, reading law and writing. By his pen he had made some sixty pounds a year; by the law-nothing. His father had given him an allowance while he lived, but eighteen months previously his business had failed and the consequent worry had driven him into the grave. His wife had died in giving Lionel birth. After his father's death Lionel perforce had

ends and expose my unhappy condition...." (Since his father's death Lionel had naturally given up his old way of life and dropped out of his usual milieu.) ... "No; I think the loathsome article is clearly indicated. What shall I write about? 'How It Feels to be Out in the Streets?'... 'The Psychology of Landladies.'... 'At a Loose End-A Curbstone Study.'... How odd that I am desperately in need of money and hate the thought of sitting down to earn i

a cigarette and pur

elp you to a job.' I leave his house, warm, full-fed, hopeful. The next morning he sends his car round, and I am whirled to his palatial city office. I enter-the great man is up to his knees in documents dictating to a staff of typewriters and gramophones. He spares me three minutes. 'Good morning, Mr. Mortimer. I find I need a secretary-salary a thous

s, white, and shouting. In the brougham, pallid but calm, sat a girl of about twenty-three. Her lips were slightly parted, but no sound came from between them; courage held her erect, motionless and silent. The traffic divided before the swaying brougham like waves before a cutwater. When it was fifty yards distant the coachman lost all control of hims

and by the time the horse was level with his shoulder he was running almost as fast. With a judicious leap he sprang at the reins, clutched them, stumbled, recovered and still ran. He was strong of arm and at least twelve stones in weight. The horse, alread

ticed with satisfaction that she was certainly beautiful and her clothes expensive and tasteful. "Ha! ha!" he thought whimsically, "a secretaryship! Governor of a Crown Colony at least! I must take a flat to-morrow!" He bore

h a ravishing sigh. She was naturally bewildered, and Lionel-partly because he wi

ively, with the purring note that some women

ost of a shudde

an away, but there

chman-is

ght of wine. Hitherto she had been merely a pretty aristocrat and (apparently) a delightful

ell softly. Upon a c

laugh. "Let us hope he was a fat one," she said.

with an assumed jauntiness, wishing he could fee

rently," she replied with a gra

you," he smiled. Really, the affair

r a moment,

man." Lionel tried to look as if he disagreed. "Yes, I think so.

pound, three and sevenpence"; but by an effort he choked bac

lves. Lionel was still upon one knee, his face upturned, his eyes drawn as by a magnet. She leaned toward him; her face came closer and closer yet, in her eyes a world of gratitude and fun. Her hair almo

rose

unhappy and bewildered chemist with

xi, p

ceman, who had salved the discomfiture of his over-throw by hectoring the crowd and c