Part 8
A SUSPICIOUS GIFT
Blake had been in very low water for months—almost under water
part of the time—due to circumstances he was fond of saying were no
fault of his own; and as he sat writing in his room on "third floor
back" of a New York boarding-house, part of his mind was busily
occupied in wondering when his luck was going to turn again.
It was his room only in the sense that he paid the rent. Two
friends, one a little Frenchman and the other a big Dane, shared it
with him, both hoping eventually to contribute something towards
expenses, but so far not having accomplished this result. They had
two beds only, the third being a mattress they slept upon in turns,
a week at a time. A good deal of their irregular "feeding"
consisted of oatmeal, potatoes, and sometimes eggs
