Dick had impetrated more than one loan, using
these portraits as collateral security. Did his heart soften as he
bade them farewell? Who can tell?
* * * * *
Within six weeks the Rev. Tudor Crisp received a cheque from distant
Dorset, and the proceeds were duly invested in a saloon in San
Clemente, a town some twenty miles from San Lorenzo. Moreover, the
business prospered from the start. The partners, Crisp and Cartwright
(Dick deemed it wise to alter his name), kept no assistants, so there
was no leakage from the till. They understood that this liquor traffic
was a shameful trade, but they pronounced themselves unable to follow
any other. Curiously enough the work proved a tonic to the 'Bishop.'
He allowed himself so many drinks a day, and observed faithfully other
rules to his physical and financial betterment. He started a reading-
room in connection with the bar, for he had had experience in such
matters when a curate at home; and the illustrated papers sent
regularly by his maiden aunt were in great demand. Indeed, the mere
reading about football matches and the like created an unquenchable
thirst in cowboys and sheep-herders.
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