ers about him.

To him came many callers; sometimes other men, sometimes shop-boys,
now and then a shop-girl on some errand, and once a week a charwoman
who cleaned, and swept, and dusted, and piled the papers neatly up on
the table.

All this was of deepest interest to Molly, who passed hours every day
looking into this room, her only outlook into the world, and making up
stories about the people who came.

Sometimes--not very often--there came a beautiful lady to the room,
who had long talks with the old gentleman, and seemed to be unhappy
about something. She would cry, and appeared to be begging him to do
something which he never did, though he seemed to be sorry for her.
Molly had made up a story about her: that she was the daughter of the
old gentleman and wanted to go to live in the country where there were
trees, and birds, and gardens, and her father always refused to let
her, but kept her shut up in a big brick house in the city.

One day while peering down into the room, Molly saw the beautiful
lady, after much talk, take out of her bag a small leather case and
open it. There was something very glittering inside, which flashed
bright colors as she turned it. Molly was so interested that she could
not take her eyes off her. After a while she gave it to the old
gentleman, who unlocked a drawer in the table, put into it the case
with its wonderful treasure, and then took from the same drawer a
small bag, out of which he counted what Molly thought were bright, new
pennies, such big pennies, too, as the pennies were at that time, so
shining and beautiful that Molly wished she had a handful to play
with. These he gathered up and gave to the lady who put them carefully
into her bag and then went away.

Now for many days the lady did not come again, and Molly saw only the
errand-boys and occasionally a shop-girl, and the men who came to
talk, and always the old gentleman, till one day something else
happened.

The old gentleman was away all day and the charwoman was cleaning the
room. One or two persons came, apparently to see the old gentleman,
and among the rest one of the shop-girls Molly had often seen there.
She talked with the cleaning-woman a few minutes, and then, the work
being done, they went out together.

While Molly still looked, hoping they would come back, she saw a boy
steal in very quietly. She knew him for one she had often seen there;
he seemed to belong to the store below. But he acted ve