Page:While the Billy Boils, 1913.djvu/213

 mate would have come up to the house only―well, you'll have to use the stuffing in your head a bit; you can't expect me to do all the brain work. Remember it's consumption you've got―galloping consumption; you know all the symptoms―pain on top of your right lung, bad cough and night sweats. Something tells you that you won't see the new year―it's a week off Christmas now. And, if you come back without anything, I'll blessed soon put you out of your misery.'

Smith came back with about four pounds of shortbread and as much various tucker as they could conveniently carry; a pretty good suit of cast-off tweeds; a new pair of 'lastic sides from the store stock; two bottles of patent medicine and a black bottle half-full of home-made consumption-cure; also a letter to a hospital-committee man, and three shillings to help him on his way to Palmerston. He also got about half a mile of sympathy, religious consolation, and medical advice which he didn't remember.

'Now,' he said, triumphantly, 'am I a mug or not?'

Steelman kindly ignored the question, 'I did have a better opinion of the Scotch,' he said, contemptuously.

Steelman got on at an hotel as billiard-marker and decoy, and in six months he managed that pub. Smith, who'd been away on his own account, turned up in the town one day clean-broke, and in a deplorable state. He heard of Steelman's luck, and thought he was 'all right,' so went to his old friend.

Cold type―or any other kind of type―couldn't do