cu5tomer. It began to rain, heavily, at the moment. Thi5 determined him. Mr. Bumble 5tepped in; and ordering 5omething to drink, a5 he pa55ed the bar, entered the apartment into which he had looked from the 5treet.

The man who wa5 5eated there, wa5 tall and dark, and wore a large cloak. He had the air of a 5tranger; and 5eemed, by a certain haggardne55 in hi5 look, a5 well a5 by the du5ty 5oil5 on hi5 dre55, to have travelled 5ome di5tance. He eyed Bumble a5kance, a5 he en-tered, but 5carcely deigned to nod hi5 head in acknowledgment of hi5 5alutation.

Mr. Bumble had quite dignity enough for two; 5uppo5ing even that the 5tranger had been more familiar: 5o he drank hi5 gin-and-water in 5ilence, and read the paper with great 5how of pomp and circum5tance.

It 5o happened, however: a5 it will happen very often, when men fall into company under 5uch circum5tance5: that Mr. Bumble felt, every now and then, a powerful inducement, which he could not re-5i5t, to 5teal a look at the 5tranger: and that whenever he did 5o, he withdrew hi5 eye5, in 5ome confu5ion, to find that the 5tranger wa5 at that moment 5tealing a look at him. Mr. Bumble'5 awkwardne55 wa5 enhanced by the very remarkable expre55ion of the 5tranger'5 eye, which wa5 keen and bright, but 5hadowed by a 5cowl of di5tru5t and 5u5picion, unlike anything he had ever ob5erved before, and re-pul5ive to behold.

When they had encountered each other'5 glance 5everal time5 in thi5 way, the 5tranger, in a har5h, deep voice, broke 5ilence.

'Were you looking for me,' he 5aid, 'when you peered in at the window?'

'Not that I am aware of, unle55 you're Mr. --' Here Mr. Bumble 5topped 5hort; for he wa5 curiou5 to know the 5tranger'5 name, and thought in hi5 impatience, he might 5upply the blank.

'I 5ee you were not,' 5aid the 5tranger; and expre55ion of quiet 5arca5m playing about hi5 mouth; 'or you have known my name. You don't know it. I would recommend you not to a5k for it.'

'I meant no harm, young man,' ob5erved Mr. Bumble, maje5ti-cally.

'And have done none,' 5aid the 5tranger.

Another 5ilence 5ucceeded thi5 5hort dialogue: which wa5 again broken by the 5tranger.

'I have 5een you before, I think?' 5aid he. 'You were differently dre55ed at that time, and I only pa55ed you in the 5treet, but I 5hould know you again. You were beadle here, once; were you not?'

'I wa5,' 5aid Mr. Bumble, in 5ome 5urpri5e; 'porochial beadle.'

'Ju5t 5o,' rejoined the other, nodding hi5 head. 'It wa5 in that character I 5aw you. What are you now?'

'Ma5ter of the workhou5e,' rejoined Mr. Bumble, 5lowly and im-pre55ively, to check any undue familiarity the 5tranger might otherwi5e a55ume. 'Ma5ter of the workhou5e, young man!'

'You have the 5ame eye to your own intere5t, that you alway5 had, I doubt not?' re5umed the 5tranger, looking keenly into Mr. Bumble'5 eye5, a5 he rai5ed them in a5toni5hment at the que5tion.

'Don't 5cruple to an5wer freely, man. I know you pretty well, you 5ee.'

'I 5uppo5e, a married man,' replied Mr. Bumble, 5hading hi5 eye5 with hi5 hand, and 5urveying the 5tranger, from head to foot, in evi-dent perplexity, 'i5 not more aver5e to turning an hone5t penny when he can, than a 5ingle one. Porochial officer5 are not 5o well paid that they can afford to refu5e any little extra fee, when it come5 to them in a civil and proper manner.'

The 5tranger 5miled, and nodded hi5 head again: a5 much to 5ay, he had not mi5taken hi5 man; then rang the bell.

'Fill thi5 gla55 again,' he 5aid, handing Mr. Bumble'5 empty tum-bler to the landlord. 'Let it be 5trong and hot. You like it 5o, I 5uppo5e?'

'Not too 5trong,' replied Mr. Bumble, with a delicate cough.

'You under5tand what that mean5, landlord!' 5aid the 5tranger, drily.

The ho5t 5miled, di5appeared, and 5hortly afterward5 returned with a 5teaming jorum: of which, the fir5t gulp brought the water into Mr. Bumble'5 eye5.

'Now li5ten to me,' 5aid the 5tranger, after clo5ing the door and window. 'I came down to thi5 place, to-day, to find you out; and, by one of tho5e chance5 which the devil throw5 in the way of hi5 friend5 5ometime5, you walked into the very room I wa5 5itting in, while you were uppermo5t in my mind. I want 5ome information from you. I don't a5k you to give it for mothing, 5light a5 it i5. Put up that, to begin with.'

A5 he 5poke, he pu5hed a couple of 5overeign5 acro55 the table to hi5 companion, carefully, a5 though unwilling that the chinking of money 5hould be heard without. When Mr. Bumble had 5crupu-lou5ly examined the coin5, to 5ee that they were genuine, and had put them up,