END OF BOOK IV.

BOOK V.

CHAPTER I.

Morgan waited till half-past one before calling again at the
Ketterings, for by then, as he knew, the printer had about finished
his lunch, and usually had some few minutes to spare.

He did not ring at the side entrance, but walked through the shop,
where only a boy was in charge at this hour, and into the workshop at
the back. Here, to his satisfaction, he found Mr. Kettering himself
busy measuring up galleys with a long piece of string. The old man was
startled to see him, but said he was glad he had come, as he had been
anxious about him and had wanted to talk to him. Morgan noticed that
he seemed a little excited. His face, too, seemed a trifle more worn
and lined than usual behind his spectacles, and his beard had a
scraggy appearance.

"I'm afraid, sir, my daughters were very rude to you yesterday
morning," he continued, "and I want you to accept my sincere apology
for their conduct. They are hard-working girls enough, but they
haven't much sense, and I'm afraid not much consideration for other
folks' feelings. I only hope you'll overlook it this time. However,
there's something else I must tell you at once. Selina has gone away."

"Gone away!" echoed Morgan.

"Yes," said Mr. Kettering, sadly. "Altogether we've had a nice upset.
Mother's ill in bed to-day. It was this way: Of course I spoke a bit
sharply to those scatter-brained girls, and they answered me back in a
way it makes my blood boil to think about. Women-folk are all a bit
crazy. That's the opinion I've been forced to, sir, and if I had my
days over again, I'd never so much as look at one of them. Then
Selina--she joined in and said it stifled her to live here. It was
worse than living in a mud-hovel. Then the mother said she'd better go
and live in a mud-hovel. And after that they all four fell a-screaming
and I couldn't do anything to stop them. As soon as I could get a word
in edgeways I begged them to be quiet, but Selina was excited and
disowned us all. She said she never believed she was our child; she
could never possibly have come from such filth as us, and then she
lost her head and cursed us--I never heard the like in my life. My
heart bled for you, sir, for I said to myself: this can't be the first
exhibition she has made of herself since her marriage, especially as
things went wrong. However, business had to be attended to, which put
an end to the scene. But when I went up to dinner,