ARABIAN NIGHTS FOR TURGIS 377

who was sickening for something. But Turgis was alight
with love. He sat there in a dream ecstasy of devotion,
in which remembered kisses glittered like stars.

"PLEASE, Mr. Smeeth/' he said, next morning, "could
you let me have a pound to-day?"

Mr. Smeeth rubbed his chin irritably. "Well, you
know, Turgis, I don't like doing this/' he said fussily.
"It's not so much the thing itself—"

"It's only till to-morrow morning/' Turgis pointed
out, for the next day, Saturday, was the fortnightly pay
day.

"Yes, I know that, and it's a small thing in itself, but
it's a bad system, Once you start doing that sort of
thing, you don't know where you're going to end. When
I was with the Imperial Trading Company, before the
war, they'd a very easy-going cashier there, an old chap
called Hornsea, and we used to be paid every month.
The result was, some of the fellows, particularly one or
two of the lively sparks, were subbing all the time and
old Hornsea would let them have it out of the petty
cash. What happened in the long run? He got let down,
badly let down. Now I don't mean to say you're going
to let me down—"

"You know I wouldn't do that, Mr. Smeeth/'

"Well, you couldn't, not even if you tried/' said Mr,
Smeeth, with great emphasis. "It wouldn't work here at
all. I'm not old Hornsea. But, believe me, my boy, it's a
bad system. Can't you last out until to-morrow mom-