To his intense surprise Thomas felt himself lifted by the collar and dragged, without a word of explanation, to the front door.  This was opened, and he was kicked forcibly down the steps with one heavy, disillusionizing, humiliating impact of the stupendous Arabian’s shoe.

As soon as the ex-coachman had recovered his feet and his wits he hastened as fast as he could eastward toward Broadway.

“Crazy guy,” was his estimate of the mysterious automobilist.  “Just wanted to have some fun kiddin’, I guess.  He might have dug up a dollar, anyhow.  Now I’ve got to hurry up and get back to that gang of bum bed hunters before they all get preached to sleep.”

When Thomas reached the end of his two-mile walk he found the ranks of the homeless reduced to a squad of perhaps eight or ten.  He took the proper place of a newcomer at the left end of the rear rank.  In a file in front of him was the young man who had spoken to him of hospitals and something of a wife and child.

“Sorry to see you back again,” said the young man, turning to speak to him.  “I hoped you had struck something better than this.”

“Me?” said Thomas.  “Oh, I just took a run around the block to keep warm!  I see the public ain’t lending to the Lord very fast to-night.”

“In this kind of weather,” said the young man, “charity avails itself of the proverb, and both begins and ends at home.”

And the Preacher and his vehement lieutenant struck up a last hymn of petition to Providence and man.  Those of the Bed Liners whose windpipes still registered above 32 degrees hopelessly and tunelessly joined in.

In the middle of the second verse Thomas saw a sturdy girl with wind-tossed drapery battling against the breeze and coming straight toward him from the opposite sidewalk.  “Annie!” he yelled, and ran toward her.

“You fool, you fool!” she cried, weeping and laughing, and hanging upon his neck, “why did you do it?”

“The Stuff,” explained Thomas briefly.  “You know.  But subsequently nit.  Not a drop.”  He led her to the curb.  “How did you happen to see me?”

“I came to find you,” said Annie, holding tight to his sleeve.  “Oh, you big fool!  Professor Cherubusco told us that we might find you here.”

“Professor Ch——­ Don’t know the guy.  What saloon does he work in?”

“He’s a clairvoyant, Thomas; the greatest in the world.  He found you with the Chaldean telescope, he said.”

“He’s a liar,” said Thomas.  “I never had it.  He never saw me have anybody’s telescope.”

“And he said you came in a chariot with five wheels or something.”

“Annie,” said Thoms solicitously, “you’re giving me the wheels now.  If I had a chariot I’d have gone to bed in it long ago.  And without any singing and preaching for a nightcap, either.”

“Listen, you big fool.  The Missis says she’ll take you back.  I begged her to.  But you must behave.  And you can go up to the house to-night; and your old room over the stable is ready.”