at the top of it there gleamed at them out of the shadows
the figure of a nymph crouching by a fountain, a figure
ravishingly beautiful, the flesh warm and glowing with the
hues of life. Above was a huge court, with domed roof,
the various apartments opening into it. The butler had
paused below but a few minutes to give orders, and then
followed them; now he pressed a button, and the hall
blazed with light. He opened a door before them, and
then pressed another button, as they staggered into the
apartment.

It was fitted up as a study. In the center was a mahog~
any table, covered with books, and smokers' implements;
the walls were decorated with college trophies and colors, --
flags, posters, photographs and knickknacks -- tennis-rack~
ets, canoe-paddles, golf clubs, and polo sticks. An enor~
mous moose head, with horns six feet across, faced a
buffalo head on the opposite wall, while bear and tiger
skins covered the polished floor. There were lounging-
chairs and sofas, window-seats covered with soft cushions
of fantastic designs; there was one corner fitted in Persian
fashion, with a huge canopy and a jeweled lamp beneath.
Beyond, a door opened upon a bedroom, and beyond that
was a swimming pool of the purest marble, that had cost
about forty thousand dollars.

Master Freddie stood for a moment or two, gazing about
him; then out of the next room a dog emerged, a mon~
strous bulldog, the most hideous object that Jurgis had
ever laid eyes upon. He yawned, opening a mouth like
a dragon's; and he came toward the young man, wagging
his tail. "Hello, Dewey!" cried his master. "Been
havin' a snooze, ole boy? Well, well -- hello there, whuzza~
matter?" (The dog was snarling at Jurgis.) "Why,
Dewey -- this' my fren', Mr. Rednose -- ole fren' the
guv'ner's! Mr. Rednose, Admiral Dewey; shake han's --
hic. Ain't he a daisy, though -- blue ribbon at the New
York show -- eighty-five hundred at a clip! How's that,
hey?"

The speaker sank into one of the big arm-chairs, and
Admiral Dewey crouched beneath it; he did not snarl

[[287]]

p286 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p287w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p288

v?