warm again."

Mitchell's mate moved uneasily, and crossed the other leg; he seemed
greatly interested.

"But she never went into the water at all!" continued Mitchell. "As soon
as one or two of the men was up in the morning she'd come down from her
room in a dressing-gown. It was a toney dressing-gown, too, and set her
off properly. She knew how to dress, anyway; most of that sort of women
do. The gown was a kind of green colour, with pink and white flowers
all over it, and red lining, and a lot of coffee-coloured lace round the
neck and down the front. Well, she'd come tripping downstairs and along
the passage, holding up one side of the gown to show her little
bare white foot in a slipper; and in the other hand she carried her
tooth-brush and bath-brush, and soap--like this--so's we all could see
'em; trying to make out she was too particular to use soap after anyone
else. She could afford to buy her own soap, anyhow; it was hardly ever
wet.

"Well, she'd go into the bathroom and turn on the tap and shower; when
she got about three inches of water in the bath, she'd step in, holding
up her gown out of the water, and go slithering and kicking up and down
the bath, like this, making a tremendous splashing. Of course she'd turn
off the shower first, and screw it off very tight--wouldn't do to let
that leak, you know; she might get wet; but she'd leave the other tap
on, so as to make all the more noise."

"But how did you come to know all about this?"

"Oh, the servant girl told me. One morning she twigged her through a
corner of the bathroom window that the curtain didn't cover."

"You seem to have been pretty thick with servant girls."

"So do you with landladies! But never mind--let me finish the yarn. When
she thought she'd splashed enough, she'd get out, wipe her feet, wash
her face and hands, and carefully unbutton the two top buttons of her
gown; then throw a towel over her head and shoulders, and listen at the
door till she thought she heard some of the men moving about. Then
she'd start for her room, and, if she met one of the men-boarders in the
passage or on the stairs, she'd drop her eyes, and pretend to see for
the first time that the top of her dressing-gown wasn't buttoned--and
she'd give a little start and grab the gown and scurry off to her room
buttoning it up.

"And sometimes she'd come skipping into the breakfast-room late, looking
awfully sweet in her dressing-gown; and if she saw any of us