no stretch of politeness could truthfully be
styled windows, the hum of their voices and the meaning of their words
reached distinctly and sharply his ears and brain.

"I say, Moll, are you mindin' that our term o' the van's about up?"
asked Joe, after some minor matters had been talked over. "We'll give
the bloomin' old shay back at the end o' the time, an' I don't think as
you an' me'll ever ride in it again, my woman! We ought to be able to do
better for ourselves than travel the country like this afore another
summer comes roun'."

"I'm sure I hope so, for I'm gettin' kind o' tired o' bein' cooped up in
a box like a rabbit in a trap," answered Moll sulkily.

"We'll go to lodgin's for the winter," Joe went on, taking no notice of
her surly mood; "jest a couple o' rooms, wi' a corner in an outhouse
where we can keep the bear. Bambo an' Bruno, wi' the little un on his
back fixed up in tinsel an' spangles, an' her yeller curls flyin', ought
to bring home a tidy penny every night--a heap o' coppers, I tell you!
Tonio will take to the hurdy-gurdy again; him an' Puck should win money
too. An' as for you," he continued, "you can make yer livin' any day by
yer black eyes an' slippery tongue. My, Moll, you are a cute un, an' no
mistake!"

"Come, give over yer palaver, for I'm not wantin' it," said Moll
roughly, yet not ill pleased at her husband's judicious tribute to her
smartness and her charms. "It's all very fine--you have everythin'
nicely fixed up accordin' to yer own notion," she continued mockingly;
"but I'd like to know where _you_ come in? What are _you_ goin' to do?"
she demanded angrily. "Nothin', I expect. Play the fine gentleman an'
live upon what the rest o' us earns. Not if I knows it, Joe Harris,"
said Moll harshly, with a vicious snap of her strong white teeth.

"Now, now, you mustn't turn rusty, Mrs. Harris, my dear; it don't suit
yer style o' beauty. I'm not goin' to be either idle or extravagant. I'm
goin' to work hard an' train them kids to work for us. There's money in
them, I tell you, especially the boy, an' see if Joe Harris can't draw
it out o' him! He'll be a bit stubborn at first, maybe, but we'll soon
cure him o' that," added the man savagely. "An' min' you promised to
help me, Moll! You're surely not forgettin' the bargain we made? You
were to stan' by me wi' the brats, an' I was to give you the silk gownd
an' the glitters--eh, my lass?"

"I'm not sure if I want yer silk gownd nor yer gli