him to change his mind, and threw him into a state of profound reflection
lasting for nearly an hour; then he sauntered over to the man working on
the pile of stones before the gates of the cemented mansion, and seating
himself on the broken metal, entered into conversation with the two-inch
mason wielding the hammer.

"Pretty hard work this," ventured Nicholas.

"Blanky hard," assented the stonebreaker.

"Did you ever try the softening influence of beer?" asked Nickie, drawing
a bottle from his pocket.

"Well, I won't make yeh force it on me," said the stonebreaker.

They divided the liquor like brothers dear, and the stonebreaker
developed a sudden affection for Nicholas Crips, who after twenty minutes
casual conversation, introduced his plea.

"Must be splendid exercise for the liver, stoneknapping," he said. "I've
been troubled with liver complaint lately. Living too high. Could you
give a man a job?"

"Well," said the breaker, "I got a sorter contrac' t' break so many
yards. If you'll do it at bob a yard you can get gain' on the other end
iv th' 'eap."

The price was far below current rates for cutting metal, but Nickie was
not penurious and grasping. He threw off his tattered coat, and, draped
in fragments of a shirt, in a pair of trousers, half of which fluttered