Theater-ticket-agency grand larceny......................1.65
   Cabaret highway robbery......................................85
   Victory in wrestling match with hall boy.....................25
   Cripple's curse..............................................25
   Cable car vs. taxi [he decided to put it in, including tip] .50
   Triumph in footrace with Red-Caps............................15
   Parlor-car fare and tip......................................80

   Making a grand, impressive, but insufficient total of.....$8.05

Insufficient, because two of the beggar's War Savings Stamps would cost $8.28. At the Philadelphia terminus he would save fifteen cents more of his accustomed expenditure by dispensing with the porter's service. Still he would be eight cents short of the total. Suddenly E. Van Tenner felt himself bitterly disappointed. The zest of the game had got into his veins. Had he braved hotel clerks, striven with bell boys, bearded head waiters and outfooted the fleet and determined Red-Cap only to fail in sight of the goal?

Perish the——"Evening papers! All the magazines! Here y'are before the train starts."

"Evening Sentinel and Sat—" began E. Van Tenner, and dropped his voice and the beggar's purse simultaneously. "Never mind. Don't want—I mean need—'em." For here was his eight cents saved! With a triumphing heart he retrieved the wallet, took out the pencil and entered upon the celluloid tablet the final and victorious eight cents—that is, he thought he had entered it. But lo! the line upon which he had written remained blank. He examined the pencil.

Its point was perfect. The celluloid surface invited it. Again he essayed to set down the consummating eight cents. It was as if he had written with a wand upon water.

"This is not white but black magic," said E. Van Tenner, appalled.

In response there came back to him again the words of the beggar: "What you save on current expenses without giving up anything that you need or want or aren't better off without." Obviously, then, the beggar's purse was backing up the beggar's undertaking. It considered that he was better off with than without his favorite reading. E. Van Tenner pursued the boy and spent the eight cents.

All the way back to Philadelphia, however, his mind reverted painfully to the problem. In vain did he pass up a subsequent train boy's blandishments on the subject of chocolate; he never ate chocolate. The sensitive tablet refused to be gulled into accepting an entry on any such pretext. Equally idle was it to pretend that he might have given a quarter instead of fifteen cents to the porter at Philadelphia. Fifteen cents was his un erringly methodical tip. To make matters worse the train was nearly an hour late. Consequently there would be no opportunity of further saving; not even eight cents.

Heavy-hearted he disembarked. The beggar had asked to be informed about the experiment. Well; he'd tell him. Too bad! Might as well get it over with. And there was only ten minutes' leeway. He'd phone from that hotel opposite. Possibly the beggar could, of his magic, evolve some last-moment plan. So approaching the telephone girl he began: "Broad, Four-four——" and gasped.

The beggar's purse had stirred. It had more than stirred. It had flopped. It was now doing more than flopping. It was turning frantic handsprings in his pocket.

"Never mind that call," said the perturbed E. Van Tenner. "I'll—I'll write."

The beggar's purse settled down and went to sleep.

"How—how much would that call have been?" asked E. Van Tenner breathlessly.

"Local. Ten cents."

"And a letter—no, a postal card—is two cents. That's eight cents saved. The exact amount! Gimme a postal card. No; I don't need to write. I'll save the whole ten cents and be two cents to the good. I've done it! I've done it! Whoopee!" said E. Van Tenner, dancing upon the marble floor.

"Police!" said the telephone girl.

With