t exercise,
and they went home from the corner of Tottenham Court Road on the top of
a 'bus.

On their way Connie turned innocently to her companion and said:

"Why ever did yer say as we lived in Portland Mansions?" But a sharp
pinch on the girl's arm silenced her, and she felt more nervous and
frightened than ever.

The moment they got home, Mrs. Warren again returned to her bedroom, and
came back neatly dressed in a black and yellow silk, with a keen
appreciation of roast pork and apple sauce, which had been preparing in
the oven all the morning. Connie too was hungry.

When the meal came to an end Mrs. Warren said:

"More like a lydy you grows each minute. But, my dear, I must thank yer
nivver to open yer mouth when you're out, for yer ain't got the accent.
Yer must niver do it until yer has acquired the rightful accent."

"Was that why yer pinched me so 'ard when I axed why yer spoke o'
Portland Mansions?" asked Connie.

Mrs. Warren burst into a loud laugh.

"Course it were," she said. "Don't yer nivver do nothing o' that sort
agin."

"But we don't live in Portland Mansions. Why did yer say so?" asked
Connie.

"Ax no questions and yer'll be told no lies," was Mrs. Warren's
response.

She accompanied this apparently innocent speech with a look out of her
fierce black eyes which caused poor Connie's heart to sink into her
shoes. After a minute Mrs. Warren said:

"To-morrer's Saturday; we'll go out a bit in the morning, and then we'll
take train into the country. I promised yer a jaunt, and yer shall 'ave
it. I'm thinking a lot o' yer, my dear, and 'ow I can best help such a
beautiful young gel. Yer accent must be 'tended to, and the best way to
manage that is for you to have a refoined sort o' companion. Ronald is
that sort. We'll go and fetch 'im 'ome to-morrer."

"Whoever is Ronald?" asked Connie. "Do tell me, please," she added in an
interested voice, "for Agnes spoke of him yesterday."

"You wait till yer see," said Mrs. Warren. She nodded good-humoredly.

The rest of the day passed very much like the day before. It was again
intensely dull to poor Connie. She had nothing whatever to do but to
feed and sit still. Again Mrs. Warren slept until tea-time. Then Agnes
made her appearance, and Mrs. Warren went out in a tight-fitting coat,
and with a leather bag in her hand. Agnes made tea and scolded Connie;
and Connie grumbled and cried, and begged and begged to be given back
her liberty.

Mrs. W