,' sobbed Robin; and Meg took her baby upon her
tired arm, and turned her steps eastward once more. As they left
Temple Gardens, languid and weary, Meg saw the friendly man who had
spoken kindly to them that morning at the docks passing by in an empty
dray, and meeting her wistful eyes, he pulled up for a minute.

'Hullo, little woman!' he shouted. 'Are you going my way?'

He pointed his whip towards St Paul's, and Meg nodded, for her voice
could not have reached him through the din.

'Hoist them children up here, that's a good fellow,' he said to a man
who was standing by idle; and in a few seconds more they were riding
triumphantly along Fleet Street in such a thrill and flutter of delight
as Meg's heart had never felt before, while Robin forgot his sorrows,
and cheered on the horses with all the power of his shrill voice. The
dray put them down at about half a mile from Angel Court, while it was
still broad daylight, and Robin was no longer tired. Meg changed her
last half-crown, and spent sixpence of it lavishly in the purchase of
some meat pies, upon which they feasted sumptuously, in the shelter of
a doorway leading to the back of a house.

CHAPTER V

Little Meg's Neighbour

When their feast was over, the children sauntered on slowly, not
wishing to enter Angel Court till it was dark enough for Robin's and
baby's finery to pass by unseen; but as soon as it was dark they turned
out of the main thoroughfare into the dingy streets more familiar to
them. As they entered the house Meg heard the deep gruff voice of Mr
Grigg calling to her, and she went into his room, trembling, and
holding the baby very tightly in her arms. It was a small room, the
same size as their own attic, and the litter and confusion throughout
made it impossible to go in more than a step or two. Mr Grigg was
seated at a stained wooden table, upon which stood two large cups and a
black bottle of gin, with a letter lying near to Mr Grigg's large and
shaking hand. Coming in from the fresh air of the night, Meg coughed a
little with the mingled fumes of gin and tobacco; but she coughed
softly for fear of giving offence.

'Here's a letter come for your mother, little Meg,' said Mr Grigg,
seizing it eagerly, 'I'll read it to you if you like.'

'Oh no, thank you, sir,' answered Meg quickly; 'father's coming home,
and he'll read it to-morrow morning. His ship's in the river, and
it'll be in dock to-night for certain. So he'll be