When he had left the great house and walked for a few minutes, he came upon a huge public-house—a glittering structure at the corner of two streets.
He stopped in front of the great gaudy place, looked at it for a moment, sighed heavily, and went in.
CHAPTER XIX
"AS A BRAND FROM THE BURNING"
Joseph pushed open the swing-doors of the big public-house and entered beneath a lamp marked "Saloon Bar."
His face was quite changed.
In the short time which had elapsed since he left Sir Augustus Kirwan's house he seemed another person. The great eyes which had looked upon the lovers with such kindly beneficence had now the strange fixity and inward light that always came to them when he was about his Master's business. The face was pale, and the whole attitude of the Teacher was as that of a man who is undergoing a great nervous strain.
He walked down a passage. To his left were the doors of mahogany and cut-glass which led into those boxes which are known as "private bars" in the smart drinking-shops of London. To his right was a wall of brightly glazed tiles, and in front of him, at the passage end, was the door which led into the saloon bar itself. Pushing this open, he entered.
He found himself in a largish room, brilliantly lit by the electric light, and triangular in shape.