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Show saw that cigar lying on your mantelpiece mantel-piece I knew a good deal about you and nothing to your credit." "For Instance?"' paid Soames. . "I know something of the price of those cigars. It would not surprise me if you paid 10 a hundred for them. Look at the size." "Yef," said Soames critically. "Rather over lifesize, isn't It?" "Tell me now, frankly, what you do pay a hundred T' "I really don't know." The uncle was triumphant. "I thought so," he raid. "Where there is extravagance extrava-gance there Is also recklessness. I have frequently observed1 it. And where there is recklessness there is sheer stupidity." stu-pidity." "Think so?" paid Soames meditatively. "I shouldn't have said that I was stupid." stu-pid." "I'll prove it. Did you ever smoke ohe of those cigars right through to the very end? Say, to the last half-Inch?" "No," said Soames, "I don't know that ever I did." "That Is exactly what I thought. Monstrosities Mon-strosities of this kind cannot be smoked on economical principles. They get foul long before they are finished. Supposing Suppos-ing that the cost of that cigar is half a crown, you are compelled to throw away a shilling's worth of it." "After all, uncle, that's my own lookout. look-out. Isn't It? In all this sinfulness that you've been describing I don't injure anybody except myself." "I don't know about that. What business busi-ness have you to leave cigars lying about loose in this way on your mantel- piece? Why can't you keep them locked' up? I keep everything locked up. I defy you to come to my house any day and find the cigars not locked up. You are Bin-ply putting temptation In the way of your valet. When the man rob? you then you'll be angry." "I don't think so," paid Soames. "He does rob me, and I'm not at all angrj-. I expect moderation, and he observes It. In this particular caee I should like to point out that he has not succumbed to the temptation. For all I know it may , have acted like a refining fire out of which he will emerge" "Refining fiddlesticks! Tou don't know how many cigars you left on the mantelpiece la."t r.lght." "Pardon me," said the nephew, "I remember, re-member, perfectly; there was only this one." He rore from the tah'e. tc k the cigar between his fingers, and stood with his back to the fire. The uncle ftill surveyed sur-veyed that cigar with fury. "Just look at the thing. You couldn't get it into any ordinary cigar case. You'd have to get one built on purpose for it, and half of It's pure waste. For goodness pake smoke it and put It out of my fight. Not got a cutter? Here you are." "Thanks," said Soames slowly, "but I always use a knife . I have got my own way of cutting a cigar and I'm not going go-ing to smoke this one anyhow." "Oh. I see," said the uncle. "They' are a bit too much for you. You simply keep them out of bravado and swagger." "Not entirely that either," said Soames. He unscrewed the cigar In the middle and took out of it a pencil, a penholder, and a nail file, and laid them on the table: ta-ble: "Silly toy. isn't it?" he ?aid. "I bought it at a bazar yesterday to oblige the fool of a girl who was selling the thing. What, going already?" Harry Payne in London Sphere. DAILY j SHORT STORY THE LARGE CIGAR. "You don't mind my breakfasting while you talk?" said Mr. Bywater Soamea He was a well-dressed' joung man, but he looked tired. It was now half-past 10 and he did not generally breakfast as early as that. "Of course!" snapped the uncle as he put his silk hat on the floor and his gloves In the hat. "I breakfasted two hours ago myself. Why can't you?" "I could, but- I hate' breakfasting in bed." "You know perfectly well what I mean. I was in my bath at half-past 7. Why weren't you?" "Well." said Soames modestly, "I wasn't invited. I didn't know you'd welcome my company at that time." The uncle waved away this frivolity with a white, fat hand. "I'll tell you what It is," -he said. "You're going to the devil. I hadn't been In these chambers cham-bers two minutes before I could see that. There are Indications everywhere. Mark you. my boy, I'm a man- that observes." "What are the indications?" The uncle walked to the mantelpiece and took from It an extremely large cigar. He lifted' it up, looked at it pus-plclouply, pus-plclouply, and put it down again. "That is one of them, my boy." "If you prefer a cigarette," the nephew began Again came the wave of the fat white hand. "I never smoke in the morning. What I meant to say was that when I |