Page:Gissing - The Nether World, vol. I, 1889.djvu/154

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THE NETHER WORLD.

however, and if he still stayed away, his behaviour might be misinterpreted. On returning from work, he washed, took a hurried meal, and was on the point of going out, when some one knocked at his door. He opened, and saw an old man who was a stranger to him.