TI1E WEAKER VESSEL . 
441 
Gtibble ; “ and so long as I’m satisfied with 
your appearance nobody else matters. So 
long as 1 am pleased; that’s everything. 
What do you want to go dressing yourself 
up for ? Nothing looks worse than an over- 
dressed woman.” 
“ What are we going to do with all that 
money 7 then ? ” 
inquired Mrs. 
Gribble, in 
t r e m b 1 i n g 
tones. 
“That’ll do.” 
s a i 
d M r. 
Gri 1 
bble, de- 
c i c 
l e d'l v. 
“That’ll do. 
One 
0 ’ these 
days 
you’ll go 
too 
far. You 
start 
throwing 
that 
money in 
my 
teeth and 
see 1 
what hap- 
pens. 
. I’ve done 
my best for you 
all these years. 
and 
there’s no 
reason to sup- 
pose 
I sha’n’t 
go on doing so. 
What did you 
say? 
What ! ” 
Mrs. Gribble 
turned to him 
a face rendered 
ghastly by 
terror. “ I — I 
said — it was my 
money,” she 
stammered. 
Mr. Gribble 
rose, and stood 
for a full minute 
regarding her. 
Then; kicking a 
chair out of his way, 
he took his hat from 
its peg in the passage 
and, with a bang of the 
street-door that sent a 
current of fresh, sweet 
air circulating through 
the house, strode off to the Grafton Arms. 
It was past eleven when he returned, but 
even the spectacle of his wife laboriously darn- 
ing her old dress failed to reduce his good- 
humour in the slightest degree. In a frivolous 
mood he even took a feather from the dis- 
membered hat on the table and stuck it in his 
hair. He took the stump of a strong cigar 
from his lips and, exhaling a final cloud of 
smoke, tossed it into the fireplace. 
“ Uncle George dead,” he said, at last, 
shaking his head. “ Hadn’t pleasure ac- 
quaintance, but good man. Good man.” 
He shook his 
head again and 
gazed mistily at 
his wife. 
“He was a 
teetotaller,” she 
r e m a r k e d , 
casually. 
“ He was tee- 
toller,” repeated 
Mr. Gribble, regarding her equably. “ Good 
man. Uncle George dead — tee-toller.” 
Mrs. Gribble gathered up her work and 
began to put it away. 
“ Bed-time,” said Mr. Gribble, and led the 
way upstairs, singing. 
THEN, KICKING A CHAIR OUT OF HIS WAY, HE STRODE OFF TO THE GRAFTON 
ARMS .' 5 
