Tom Gallon

“ It contained, drawn carefully upon it, an oblong plan of the table, with the names of the guests carefully written down where their places were indicated, and with the name of "Andrew Wrench" at the head of the table. Three names on each side, and the opposite end of the table left vacant. Even while he was contemplating this, a ring came at the bell. Hardwick's hand slipped almost unconsciously to the butt of the revolver in the pocket of his dinner jacket.
"No sound of wheels," murmured Hardwick to himself. "The first mean man has walked, even on such a night as this." ”

“ I am not particularly proud of it; a man is never proud of anything he has dragged in the dust. My name is Luke Hardwick, and you may take it that I am certainly in a very impoverished condition, or I should scarcely have begged from you to-night. Without going into details, I may mention that my life, in some respects, has been one the record of which would absolutely shock a man like yourself. ”

“ Andrew Wrench shook his head. "On the contrary, I was quite agreeably surprised. I suppose there are a great many people who, in secret, at least, are extremely mean; but the devil of the thing is that they won't admit it. I have found plenty of people posing as benefactors to society and to the human race whom I am quite convinced have never given away anything in their lives. I can assure you that the difficulty of selecting people who are willingly and cheerfully mean has been very great. ”

“ THE tall, thin man with the pinched face was conspicuous by reason of the fact that he wore no overcoat, and the icy blast that came, with a sort of bitter rage, round the corners of streets that Christmas evening seemed to demand that all men should wear overcoats.
Perhaps the fact that the tall, thin man shivered a little as he moved undecidedly from one point to the other in the narrow street had induced the policeman on duty at the corner to move slowly down to the man once, and to ask him, with a civility that was really not too civil, if he was waiting for anyone. ”

“ The man he had accosted took a step towards him and seemed to blink at him through his glasses; he pushed back his hat from his forehead and studied the other man more closely.
"You speak like a gentleman," he blurted out.
"We can set that aside," answered the other, with an attempt at light-heartedness. "What a man may have been does not matter; it is rather what a man is at the moment." ”

“ I refer, of course, to people who boast of their meanness, and even flaunt it in your face."
"That's honest, at all events," said Hardwick.
"I have discovered exactly six persons who, by their own confession, are the meanest dogs in existence. It has been a process of elimination, and the selection, as I have said, has been a difficult one. But I have got together my six mean men, and they are all coming here to dinner to-night."
Andrew Wrench spoke with something of an air of triumph ”

“ Under strange and fantastic circumstances they have accepted my invitation to dinner this Christmas night——"
"Being mean men, they would very naturally take advantage of an invitation to dinner which cost them nothing," broke in Hardwick. ”

“ Very nice girls, I assure you, and they know all the real Christmas games by heart. Good night to you. I hope you'll have a very pleasant time. Punish the wine as much as you like. Parker has instructions that you are to make yourself completely at home."
They shook hands, and Andrew Wrench departed somewhat hurriedly, the man-servant helping him on with that heavy caped overcoat in the hall. The door slammed upon him, and Hardwick could picture him literally running down the street, in his joy at having escaped. ”

“ Mastering that, he turned, with the glass in his hand, towards his host, with the beginnings of a speech of thanks upon his lips.
"It isn't every man that would help a poor devil in distress——"
The speech died upon his lips, and he made a slow movement to set down the glass upon the table beside him. For that other tall, thin man, looking at him steadily through his glasses, had a revolver pointed directly at him, and had, moreover, his back planted against the door. ”

“ The man-servant did as he was bid. When finally he stepped softly to the door and went out, Hardwick rose to his feet. He selected a cigar from the box and carefully cut off the end; he lighted the cigar and moved slowly away from the table to the door. This man of mystery to his guests was naturally watched by their fascinated eyes; he was careful that he should be watched. He turned the key in the door, and took out the key and dropped it into his pocket. ”

“ Will you be so good as to tell your man to bring me some hot water, and may I borrow one of your razors?"
Some quarter of an hour later a very immaculately dressed, tall, thin man, whom no one would have recognised as the shabby vagrant who had stood in the pitiless weather outside the house, emerged from the dressing-room and came downstairs to face his host. That host was chuckling like a schoolboy as he surveyed the transformed Hardwick ”

“ Jacob Fishburn," said Hardwick, with a swift glance at the card beside his plate. "We'll have no talk here to-night of sentimental things nor charity—that horrible word!—nor of any Christmas cheer save that which is on this board for ourselves."
"I should think not, indeed," piped the man with the small body, from the end of the table. "It's very good to find one sensible man at least in a silly world. Your good health, Mr. ”