ger dropped like a spent fire.

"Did yer say Mr Jones was busy in the shop?" she inquired, feebly.

"No," said Clara, "I understand that he went down town on important
business, and won't be back till late."

"Thank yer," said Ada, with a curious glitter in her eyes. "Would yer
mind callin' Ray in? I want ter send 'im on a message to the grocer's."

Clara went into the next room and sent Ray to his mother, stopping for
a minute to shut the keyboard and put the music straight. After every
lesson she was accustomed to examine the piano as if it were her own
property. When she entered the bedroom again, Ada was whispering
rapidly to Ray. She looked up as Clara entered, and gave him some
money in a piece of paper.

"An' tell 'im I'll send the rest to-morrer," she added aloud. Ray went
down the back stairs, swinging an empty millet-bag in his hand. For
another five minutes Clara remained standing, to show that she was
anxious to get away, while Ada abused her husband, giving detailed
accounts of his meanness and neglect. Suddenly her mood changed.

"I'm afraid I mustn't keep yer any longer, Miss Grimes," she said
abruptly; "an' thank yer fer lookin' in ter see 'ow I was."

Clara, surprised and relieved at the note of dismissal in her voice,
took her leave.

She went down the winding staircase at the rear of the shop, opposite
the cashier's desk. The pungent odour of leather was delightful in her
nostrils after the stale smell of the room above, and she halted at the
turn of the landing to admire the huge shop, glittering with varnish,
mirrors, and brass rods. Then she looked round for Jonah, but he was
nowhere to be seen.

The sight of Ada, ravaged by alcohol, had filled her with strange
thoughts, and she walked up Regent Street, comparing Ada with her own
father, who seemed to thrive on beer. There must be some difference in
their constitutions, for Ada was clearly going to pieces, and...the
thought entered her mind again that quickened her pulse. She had never
thought of that! She was passing the "Angel" with its huge white
globes and glittering mirrors that reflected the sun's rays, when she
caught sight of Ray coming out of the side door, swinging an empty
millet-bag in his hand. A sudden light flashed on her mind. Ada's
invitation into the bedroom, the inquiry about Jonah, and her sudden
dismissal all meant this.

"Did you get what your mother wanted?" she asked the child, with a
thumping sens