_was_ a friend, and that was the great thing; he felt that whatever
she did would be pleasant and good, and that she was going to give him
something nice to eat and a comfortable bed to sleep in.

Somehow he did not feel at all surprised, only extremely tired, so that
he could scarcely keep his eyes open. Things that happened did not seem
quite real, it was almost like a dream. The lady stopped in front of a
house where lodgings were let, although Jimmy knew nothing about that.
The door was opened by a pleasant, rosy-cheeked woman in a cotton dress.

'Well, I _am_ glad!' she cried; and Jimmy wondered, but only for a
moment, what she had to be glad about.

'I think some hot soup will be the best thing,' said the lady, 'and then
we will put him to bed.'

'What do you think about a bath?' asked the landlady.

'The bath will do to-morrow,' was the answer. 'Just some soup and then
bed. And I shall want you to send a telegram to the Post Office.'

'You're not going to send a telegram to the policeman,' exclaimed Jimmy;
but as the landlady left the room to see about the soup, the lady placed
her arm round him and drew him towards her. Jimmy thought that most
ladies would not have liked to draw him close, because he really looked
a dirty little object, but this lady did not seem to mind at all.

Suddenly she held him farther away from her, and looked strangely into
his face.

'What is your name?' she asked.

'James--Orchardson--Sinclair--Wilmot,' said Jimmy with a gape between
the words.

Then she pressed him closer still, and kissed his face again and again,
and for once Jimmy rather liked being kissed. Perhaps it was because he
had felt so tired and lonely; but whatever the reason may have been, he
did not try to draw away, but nestled down in her arms and felt more
comfortable than he had felt for ever so long.

It was not long before the landlady came back with a plate of hot soup,
and Jimmy sat in a chair by the table and the lady broke some bread and
dipped it in, and Jimmy almost fell asleep as he fed himself. Still he
enjoyed the soup, and when it was finished she took him up in her arms
and carried him to another room where there were two beds. She stood
Jimmy down, and he leaned against the smaller bed with his eyes shut
whilst she took off the clown's dress, and the last thing he recollected
was her face very close to his own before he fell sound asleep.

CHAPTER XIII

THE LAST

It was quite