swiftness and marvellous tact and ability with which he got at the bottom of the inquiries he made, he joined the regular staff of a popular evening sheet--which, by reason of having once tried the experiment of printing on scented paper, was known in press circles as "The Stinker"--and subsequently became chief of the reporting staff of the _Comet_--as smart a staff as could be found in London. In common with many other men in Fleet Street, that never-sleeping world of tape and flimsy, Dick had one failing--he had a penchant for a particular brand of whisky sold at the _Cheese_, the ancient house of steak-pudding fame, but he was always moderate, for his great pride was that his sub-editors could place the greatest reliance in him, as indeed they could. Dick Cleugh was certainly smart, even though his hair was often unkempt and a bundle of copy-paper usually poked out of the side-pocket of his well-worn overcoat. Over and over again had he proved himself a very brilliant pressman and had startled London by the "latest details" he had elicited where the police had failed. I had arrived at our chambers about six, after a heavy day. I had visited Barking and Wandsworth, and had made an inquiry at Hammersmith, three districts far afield from one another, therefore I felt fagged and hungry. The Hag was engaged in fizzling the usual daily steak in the gas fumes, filling the place with a decidedly appetising odour; nevertheless, between Dick and I there was an arrangement that neither should eat without the other, unless a telegram arrived announcing a protracted absence. Therefore I lit a cigarette, cast myself into the trifle rickety but very comfortable armchair, and waited by the open window. I was just a trifle melancholy that evening, for there had come back to me recollections of a love-bond long since severed, of a face which was once very dear to me. But I was a lonely bachelor now. All was of the past. Soon, however, as I sat thinking, I saw Cleugh hurrying across the square, his silk hat, a trifle rusty, tilted at the back of his head, and a few moments later he burst merrily into the room, saying-- "Sorry to keep you so long, old chap, but we brought out an extra to-night. There's a bit of a row down in Parliament." Then, calling to Mrs. Joad, who was pottering in the "sink" beyond, he said, "Come along, mother. Look sharp with the horseflesh!"