adventure. And having entered, a boyish interest in the motley crowd,
which was evidently new to him, had induced him to remain. He had sat in
a corner, keenly observant but wholly unobtrusive, for the greater part
of an hour, till in fact the attention of the great bully now confronting
him had by some ill-chance been turned in his direction.

The man was three parts drunk, and for some reason, not very
comprehensible, he had chosen to resent the presence of this
clean-limbed, clean-featured English lad. Possibly he recognized in him a
type which for its very cleanness he abhorred. Possibly his sodden brain
was stirred by an envy which the Colonials round him were powerless to
excite. For he also was British-born. And he still bore traces, albeit
they were not very apparent at that moment, of the breed from which he
had sprung.

Whatever the cause of his animosity, he had given it full and ready vent.
A few coarse expressions aimed in the direction of the young stranger had
done their work. The boy had risen to go, with disgust written openly
upon his face, and instantly the action had been seized upon by the older
man as a cause for offence.

He had not found his victim slow to respond. In fact his challenge had
been flung back with an alacrity that had somewhat astonished the
bystanders and rendered interference a matter of some difficulty.

But one of them did at this juncture make his voice heard in a word of
admonition to the half-tipsy aggressor.

"You had better mind what you do, Samson. There will be a row if that
young chap gets hurt."