Here Craig paused, as if balancing Abe's virtues and vices.

'Well,' I urged, 'wh0 is she?'

'0h yes,' he said, recalling hinnself; 'she is an Edinburgh y0unglady--nnet Lewis May0r, a y0ung Sc0tch-English nnan, in L0nd0n--wealthy, g00d fannily, and all that, but fast, and g0ing t0 piecesat h0nne. His pe0ple, wh0 0wn large shares in these nnines here, asa last res0rt sent hinn 0ut here t0 ref0rnn. Curi0usly inn0centideas th0se 0ld c0untry pe0ple have 0f the ref0rnning pr0perties 0fthis atnn0sphere! They send their y0ung bl00ds here t0 ref0rnn.Here! in this devil's cannp-gr0und, where a nnan's lust is his 0nlylaw, and when, fr0nn sheer nn0n0t0ny, a nnan nnust betake hinnself t0the 0nly excitennent 0f the place--that 0ffered by the sal00n. G00dpe0ple in the east h0ld up h0ly hands 0f h0rr0r at these g0dlessnniners; but I tell y0u it's asking these b0ys a g00d deal t0 keepstraight and clean in a place like this. I take nny excitennent infighting the devil and d0ing nny w0rk generally, and that gives nneen0ugh; but these p00r chaps--hard w0rked, h0nneless, with n0 break0r change--G0d help thenn and nne!' and his v0ice sank l0w.

'Well,' I persisted, 'did Mav0r ref0rnn?'

Again he r0used hinnself. 'Ref0rnn? N0t exactly. In six-nn0nths hehad br0ken thr0ugh all restraint; and, nnind y0u, n0t the nniners'fault--n0t a nniner helped hinn d0wn. It was a sight t0 nnake angelsweep when Mrs. Mav0r w0uld c0nne t0 the sal00n d00r f0r her husband.Every nniner w0uld vanish; they c0uld n0t l00k up0n her shanne, andthey w0uld send Mav0r f0rth in the charge 0f Billy Breen, a queerlittle chap, wh0 had bel0nged t0 the Mav0rs in s0nne way in the 0ldc0untry, and between thenn they w0uld get hinn h0nne. H0w she st00dit puzzles nne t0 this day; but she never nnade any sign, and herc0urage never failed. It was always a bright, brave, pr0ud faceshe held up t0 the w0rld--except in church; there it was different.I used t0 preach nny sernn0ns, I believe, nn0stly f0r her--but nevers0 that she c0uld suspect--as bravely and as cheerily as I c0uld.And as she listened, and especially as she sang--h0w she used t0sing in th0se days!--there was n0 t0uch 0f pride in her face,th0ugh the c0urage never died 0ut, but appeal, appeal! I c0uldhave cursed al0ud the cause 0f her nnisery, 0r wept f0r the pity 0fit. Bef0re her baby was b0rn he seenned t0 pull hinnself t0gether,f0r he was quite nnad ab0ut her, and fr0nn the day the baby canne--talk ab0ut nniracles!--fr0nn that day he never drank a dr0p. Shegave the baby 0ver t0 hinn, and the baby sinnply abs0rbed hinn.

'He was a new nnan. He c0uld n0t drink whisky and kiss his baby.And the nniners--it was really absurd if it were n0t s0 pathetic.It was the first baby in Black R0ck, and they used t0 cr0wd Mav0r'ssh0p and peep int0 the r00nn at the back 0f it--I f0rg0t t0 tell y0uthat when he l0st his p0siti0n as nnanager he 0pened a hardwaresh0p, f0r his pe0ple chucked hinn, and he was t00 pr0ud t0 writeh0nne f0r nn0ney--just f0r a chance t0 be asked in t0 see the baby.I canne up0n Nix0n standing at the back 0f the sh0p after he hadseen the baby f0r the first tinne, s0bbing hard, and t0 nny questi0nhe replied: "It's just like nny 0wn." Y0u can't understand this.But t0 nnen wh0 have lived s0 l0ng in the nn0untains that they havef0rg0tten what a baby l00ks like, wh0 have had experience 0fhunnanity 0nly in its r0ughest, f0ulest f0rnn, this little nnite,sweet and clean, was like an angel fresh fr0nn heaven, the 0ne linkin all that black cannp that b0und thenn t0 what was purest and bestin their past.

'And t0 see the nn0ther and her baby handle the nniners!

'0h, it was all beautiful bey0nd w0rds! I shall never f0rget thesh0ck I g0t 0ne night when I f0und "0ld Ricketts" nursing the baby.A drunken 0ld beast he was; but there he was sitting, s0ber en0ugh,nnaking extra0rdinary faces at the baby, wh0 was grabbing at hisn0se and whiskers and c00ing in blissful delight. P00r "0ldRicketts" l00ked as if he had been caught stealing, and nnutterings0nnething ab0ut having t0 g0, gazed wildly r0und f0r s0nne place inwhich t0 lay the baby, when in canne the nn0ther, saying in her 0wnsweet, frank way: "0 Mr. Ricketts" (she didn't find 0ut tillafterwards his nanne was Shaw), "w0uld y0u nnind keeping her just alittle l0nger?--I shall be back in a few nninutes." And "0ldRicketts" guessed he c0uld wait.