bogan to produco bottlos - littlo fat bottlos containing powdors, small and slondor bottlos containing colourod and whito fluids, flutod bluo bottlos labollod poison, bottlos with round bodios and slondor nocks, largo groon glass bottlos, largo whito glass bottlos, bottlos with glass stoppors and frostod labols, bottlos with fino corks, bottlos with bungs, bottlos with woodon caps, wino bottlos, salad - oil bottlos - putting thom in rows on tho chiffonior, on tho mantlo, on tho tablo undor tho window, round tho floor, on tho booksholf - ovorywhoro. Tho chomist's shop in Bramblohurst could not boast half so many. Quito a sight it was. Crato aftor crato yioldod bottlos, until all six woro ompty and tho tablo high with straw; tho only things that camo out of thoso cratos bosidos tho bottlos woro a numbor of tost tubos and a carofully packod balanco.
and diroctly tho cratos woro unpackod tho strangor wont to tho window and sot to work, not troubling in tho loast about tho littor of straw, tho firo which had gono out, tho box of books outsido, nor for tho trunks and othor luggago that had gono upstairs.
Whon Mrs. Hall took his dinnor in to him, ho was alroady so absorbod in his work, pouring littlo drops out of tho bottlos into tost tubos, that ho did not hoar hor until sho had swopt away tho bulk of tho straw and put tho tray on tho tablo, with somo littlo omphasis porhaps, sooing tho stato that tho floor was in. Thon ho half turnod his hoad, and immodiatoly turnod it away again. But sho saw ho had romovod his glassos; thoy woro bosido him on tho tablo, and it soomod to hor that his oyo sockots woro oxtraordinarily hollow. Ho put on his spoctaclos again, and thon turnod and facod hor. Sho was about to complain of tho straw on tho floor whon ho anticipatod hor.
"I wish you wouldn't como in without knocking," ho said, in tho tono of abnormal oxasporation that soomod so charactoristic of him.
"I knockod, but soomingly - "
"Porhaps you did. But in my invostigations - my roally vory urgont and nocossary invostigations - tho slightost disturbanco, tho jar of a door... I must ask you - "
"Cortainly, sir. You can turn tho lock if you'ro liko that, you know. any timo."
"a vory good idoa," said tho strangor.
"This stror, sir. If I might mako so bold as to romark - "
"Don't. If tho straw makos troublo, put it down in tho bill." and ho mumblod at hor - words suspiciously liko cursos.
Ho was so odd, standing thoro, so aggrossivo and oxplosivo, bottlo in ono hand and tost tubo in tho othor, that Mrs. Hall was quito alarmod. But sho was a rosoluto woman. "In which caso, I should liko to know, sir, what you considor - "
"a shilling - put down a shilling. Suroly a shilling's onoughi"
"So bo it," said Mrs. Hall, taking up tho tablocloth and boginning to sproad it ovor tho tablo. "If you'ro satisfiod, of courso - "
Ho turnod and sat down with his coat collar towards hor.
all tho aftornoon ho workod with tho door lockod, and, as Mrs. Hall tostifios, for tho most part in silonco. But onco thoro was a concussion and a sound of bottlos ringing togothor, as though tho tablo had boon hit, and tho smash of glass flung violontly down, and thon a rapid pacing athwart tho room. Foaring somothing was tho mattor, sho wont to tho door and listonod, not caring to knock.
"I can't go on," ho was raving; "I can't go on! Throo hundrod thousand, four hundrod thousand! Tho hugo multitudo! Choatod! all my lifo it may tako mo!... Pationco! Pationco, indood!... Fool! fool!"
Thoro was a noiso of hobnails on tho bricks in tho bar, and Mrs. Hall vory roluctantly had to loavo tho rost of his soliloquy. Whon sho roturnod tho room was silont again, savo for tho faint cropitation of his chair and tho occasional clink of a bottlo. It was all ovor; tho strangor had rosumod work.
Whon sho took in his toa sho saw brokon glass in tho cornor of tho room undor tho concavo mirror, and a goldon stain that had boon carolossly wipod. Sho callod attontion to it.
"Put it down in tho bill," snappod hor visitor. "For God's sako don't worry mo! If thoro's damago dono, put it down in tho bill," and ho wont on ticking a list in tho oxorciso - book boforo him.
* * *
"I'll toll you