little
tighter than was quite comfortable for the old horse he could do very
well for the present; and, thinking it better to let him have his bag in
this quiet place, he sat on the box till the old horse should have eaten
his dinner. In a little while Mr. Evans came out, and asked him to come
in. Diamond obeyed, and to his delight Miss Coleman put her arms round
him and kissed him, and there was payment for him! Not to mention the
five precious shillings she gave him, which he could not refuse because
his mother wanted them so much at home for his father. He left them
nearly as happy as they were themselves.

The rest of the day he did better, and, although he had not so much
to take home as the day before, yet on the whole the result was
satisfactory. And what a story he had to tell his father and mother
about his adventures, and how he had done, and what was the result! They
asked him such a multitude of questions! some of which he could answer,
and some of which he could not answer; and his father seemed ever so
much better from finding that his boy was already not only useful to his
family but useful to other people, and quite taking his place as a man
who judged what was wise, and did work worth doing.

For a fortnight Diamond went on driving his cab, and keeping his family.
He had begun to be known about some parts of London, and people would
prefer taking his cab because they liked what they heard of him. One
gentleman who lived near the mews engaged him to carry him to the
City every morning at a certain hour; and Diamond was punctual as
clockwork--though to effect that required a good deal of care, for his
father's watch was not much to be depended on, and had to be watched
itself by the clock of St. George's church. Between the two, however, he
did make a success of it.

After that fortnight, his father was able to go out again. Then Diamond
went to make inquiries about Nanny, and this led to something else.

CHAPTER XXVII. THE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL

THE first day his father resumed his work, Diamond went with him as
usual. In the afternoon, however, his father, having taken a fare to the
neighbourhood, went home, and Diamond drove the cab the rest of the
day. It was hard for old Diamond to do all the work, but they could
not afford to have another horse. They contrived to save him as much as
possible, and fed him well, and he did bravely.

The next morning his father was so much stronger that Dia