y Mrs. Dawkins to pay their respecks to us, and do it proper or
she'd know the reason why. Sammy saluted left-'anded and she cuffed him
unmerciful. Jim and me begun to feel regler low-spirited.

After that she set out the tea. It was as butiful a tea as we could wish
for, cakes and jam, and bloater-paste and sardines, and bein' hungry after
a long march we cheered up and looked forward to enjoyin' it. As was
correck Jim 'anded all the dishes to Mrs. Dawkins first, but she said, "No,
thank you, such things are for the defenders of the country, and it is our
duty to provide them, but bread-and-dripping is good enough for me and Mr.
Dawkins and the children."

Susan, Sammy, Billy and Elfreda all begun to cry, and their father sat
lookin' at 'em, the picture of misery. It clean took away our appetites.
She piled our plates with jam and sardines, but we couldn't swaller a
mouthful with them poor kids sobbin' all round the table. We was thankful
they was put to bed before supper. Mrs. Dawkins fried potaters and sausages
and set 'em down in front of me Jim, with a jug of porter, and she and
Dawkins and a young man lodger sat at the other end, behind half a Dutch
cheese and some water. All the meals was the same.

There was only three rooms upstairs, and Jim and me couldn't make out how
it was we had a bedroom apiece till we come across the lodger sleepin' on
the kitchen table, Dawkins on the mangle and Sammy in one of the dresser
drawers. Then we asked to be allowed to sleep together, with the lodger to
one side; but Mrs. Dawkins said, "I thank the Lord we're blessed with two
good beds in our house, and as long as I have two defenders of the country
in my care I should like to catch anyone belonging to me getting into
either of their beds. If we're all getting wore out for want of sleep we
can't help ourselves, we're doing our duty."

Then she asked Jim if he was warm enough nights, and before he'd time to
think he'd blurted out he wasn't quite. That evening she come down
shiverin' to supper in her petticut, and said what did it matter her
catchin' her death of cold if them she had in her care slept warm and
comfortable under her meriner skirt. We felt downright brutes.

But what hurt us most was the way them kids took against us. Me and Jim is
fond of kids, and we wanted to make friends and play with 'em, but it
weren't no good. They was always puttin' their tongues out at us when Mrs.
Dawkins' back was turned and talkin'