being in the air had reached his brain--his being?

He looked almost appealingly at him, but he only said aloud:

"Let us go upstairs, then."

So they went.

As they passed the door of the room where the dead woman lay Dart went
in and spoke to Miss Montaubyn, who was still there.

"If there are things wanted here," he said, "this will buy them." And
he put some money into her hand.

She did not seem surprised at the incongruity of his shabbiness
producing money.

"Well, now," she said, "I WAS wonderin' an' askin'. I'd like 'er clean
an' nice, an' there's milk wanted bad for the biby."

In the room they mounted to Glad was trying to feed the child with bread
softened in tea. Polly sat near her looking on with restless, eager
eyes. She had never seen anything of her own baby but its limp newborn
and dead body being carried away out of sight. She had not even dared
to ask what was done with such poor little carrion. The tyranny of the
law of life made her want to paw and touch this lately born thing, as
her agony had given her no fruit of her own body to touch and paw and
nuzzle and caress as mother creatures will whether they be women or
tigresses or doves or female cats.

"Let me hold her, Glad," she half whimpered. "When she's fed let me
get her to sleep."

"All right," Glad answered; "we could look after 'er between us well
enough."

The thief was still sitting on the hearth, but being full fed and
comfortable for the first time in many a day, he had rested his head
against the wall and fallen into profound sleep.

"Wot's up?" said Glad when the two men came in. "Is anythin'
'appenin'?"

"I have come up here to tell you something," Dart answered. "Let us sit
down again round the fire. It will take a little time."

Glad with eager eyes on him handed the child to Polly and sat down
without a moment's hesitance, avid of what was to come. She nudged the
thief with friendly elbow and he started up awake.

"'E's got somethin' to tell us," she explained. "The curick's come
up to 'ear it, too. Sit 'ere, Polly," with elbow jerk toward the bundle
of sacks. "It's got its stummick full an' it'll go to sleep fast
enough."

So they sat again in the weird circle. Neither the strangeness of the
group nor the squalor of the hearth were of a nature to be new things to
the curate. His eyes fixed themselves on Dart's face, as did the eyes
of the thief, the beggar, and the young thing of the street.