"Poor brute!" commented Winthrop. "Anyhow, Harry, your mistake has probably given him a lot of pleasure. No wonder he seized the opportunity. You can drop him by degrees so that, perhaps, he'll never suspect. Still, if he's as thick as you say he may give you trouble yet! Hello, it's a quarter past eight already! We shall have to run if we expect to see the first act. Come on, fellows!"
Half hidden behind the curtain in the window, Brown sat staring out into the night.
Hour after hour passed; the servants looked into the deserted room, observed him, apparently asleep, and departed noiselessly. One o'clock came, and Peter, the doorman, crossed over and touched him gently on the shoulder, saying that it was time to close the club. Brown mechanically arose, followed Peter to the coat room, and then, with eyes still fixed vacantly before him, silently passed out.
"You've left your cane, sir!" Peter called after him.
But Brown paid no heed.
A STUDY IN SOCIOLOGY
"I move the case of the People against Ludovico Candido, indicted for murder," announced the assistant district attorney, addressing the court.
"Bring up Candido," shouted the captain to one of the attendants.
"Where's his lawyer?" inquired the clerk, glancing along the benches.