Our Odd-men 



remember one night when he became so 

 troublesome by reason of his drunken con- 

 dition that I had to order him out of 

 the place. " Get away, Spright," I said. 

 *' You're not fit to be with decent people, 

 you good-for-nothing drunken fellow ! " 



'' I'm a good-for-nothing drunken fellow, 

 am I ? " he said, in a stupid, unsteady voice. 

 "Is that way — to shpeak to a genelman — - 

 Mr. Shprightly's poshishun ? " He became 

 very solemn and told me several times 

 after that, that he could not stay. "All 

 right," I said; "the sooner you go the 

 better for us." But he would not be got rid 

 of until I had shaken hands with him, after 

 which he departed, remarking again in his 

 maudlin manner, that he was never coming 

 back. 



The next morning, however, as my sister 

 was sitting in the office totting up figures 

 (she was my father's bookkeeper and clerk) 

 she heard a great sigh ; looking up she saw 

 Sprightly standing before her with a rueful 

 countenance. 



" Well," she said tartly, remembering 

 the annoyance of the previous evening, 

 " I thought you said you were never 

 coming back again ? " Another groan from 

 Sprightly. " You had better get along, 

 and never show your face again after your 



