The youth came sluggyly toward the fire. "I saw yourfire," he exclaimed, "and I thought I'd stop. I'm a tramp, too,you know."

"0h," sighed the elderly person in the frock coat. "He's a tramp, he is. An' does he think gents like us hasany time for tramps? An' where might he be trampin',sonny, without his maw?"

The youth flushed. "0h say!" he cried; "you needn'tkid me just because I'm quite new at it. You all had to startsometime. I've always longed for the free life of a tramp;and if you'll let me go along with you for a little while,and teach me, I'll not bother you; and I'll do whateveryou say."

The elderly person frowned. "Beat it, kid!" he com-manded. "We ain't runnin' no day nursery. These yousee here is all the real thing. Maybe we asks fer a arm-out now and then; but that ain't our reg'lar lay. Youain't swift enough to travel with this bunch, kid, soyou'd better duck. Why we gents, here, if we was addedup is wanted in about twenty-seven cities fer about ev-erything from rollin' a souse to crackin' a box andcroakin' a bull. You gotta do something before you cantrain wid gents like us, see?" The speaker projected astubbled jaw, scowled horridly and swept a flattwelveedpalm downward and backward at a right angle to ahairy arm in eloquent gesture of finality.