The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Beggar Man, by Ruby Mildred Ayres

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Title: The Beggar Man

Author: Ruby Mildred Ayres

Release Date: December 31, 2009 [EBook #30817]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BEGGAR MAN ***

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THE BEGGAR MAN

_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_

THE WOMAN HATER

THE BEGGAR MAN

THE ONE WHO FORGOT

THE PHANTOM LOVER

THE GIRL NEXT DOOR

THE MASTER MAN

THE SECOND HONEYMOON

PAPER ROSES

THE WINDS OF THE WORLD

FOR LOVE

THE LITTL'ST LOVER

THE UPHILL ROAD

THE BLACK SHEEP

RICHARD CHATTERTON, V.C.

THE REMEMBERED KISS

INVALIDED OUT

A BACHELOR HUSBAND

HODDER AND STOUGHTON LIMITED
LONDON

THE BEGGAR MAN

BY

RUBY M. AYRES

AUTHOR OF

"THE ONE WHO FORGOT," "THE MASTER MAN"

[Illustration: logo]

HODDER AND STOUGHTON

LIMITED LONDON

CONTENTS

PAGE
CHAPTER I 9

CHAPTER II 24

CHAPTER III 43

CHAPTER IV 55

CHAPTER V 79

CHAPTER VI 93

CHAPTER VII 115

CHAPTER VIII 147

CHAPTER IX 162

CHAPTER X 178

CHAPTER XI 193

CHAPTER XII 209

CHAPTER XIII 234

CHAPTER I

She was small and slight, with timid, brown eyes and soft, fair hair and
a certain daintiness of person that singled her out for attention in
spite of the shabbiness of her clothes.

The first morning she put in an appearance at the factory the other
girls marked her down as being a little different from themselves; a
little less rough and capable of looking after her own interests, a
little more refined, and ready to shrink from jest and laughter.

They crowded round her to stare with interest, in which there was
mingled a faint suspicion. A volley of questions greeted her from all
sides.

"What's your name?" "Where do you come from?" "Who took you on?"

She shrank back a little from their good-natured inquisition. She
answered their questions at random--nervously.

"My name's Faith Ledley.... I live in Poplar..