eous light in her
blue eyes, told Noel the whole cruel story. He listened without once
interrupting the little narrator. When she had finished, he kissed
her, and told her that she now had nothing to fear, and then, bidding
her sleep away all her troubles, he left her to Primrose's care. By
the next train he himself went to London in full time to attend Dove's
trial.

That worthy was at first inclined to brazen matters out, but when
Noel, primed with Daisy's confession, appeared on the scene, his face
underwent a remarkable change. Its rubicund tints quite deserted it,
an alarming pallor spreading over every feature. Tommy Dove, who might
have been seen in a foremost position amongst the crowd of spectators,
was heard audibly to exclaim--

"Law, I guess there ain't no leg for my respected pa to stand on now!"

This, although not expressed aloud, seemed also to be Dove's opinion,
for he then and there made a full confession of his wicked practices,
and of the cruel threats he had employed to terrify Daisy. He received
his sentence, which was a severe one, with much stoicism, and, as he
was led away from his place in the prisoner's dock, addressed a
parting word to his affectionate and hysterical spouse--

"Never mind, Mrs. Dove, my only love, even fourteen years comes to an
end somehow, and when we meets again we'll make a rule for there being
no attic lodgers."

"To the very end his was a poetic turn," his wife afterwards remarked
to her favorite cronies.

CHAPTER XLVII.

ALMOST DEFEATED.

With the weight of her secret removed Daisy began slowly, very slowly,
to mend. The strain she had undergone had been too great for her
quickly to recover her strength; but little by little a faint color
did return to her white cheeks, she slept more peacefully, and began
to eat again.

"There's nothing at all for you to do, Miss Primrose," said Hannah,
"but to give up that post of continually screaming out book and
newspaper stuff to a deaf old lady."

"She isn't deaf, Hannah," interrupted Primrose. "She wants me to read
to her because her sight is very bad."

"Well, well," replied Hannah Martin, in a testy tone, "whether she's
deaf or whether she's blind, it ain't no way a fit post for you, Miss
Primrose. You've got to stay here now, and take care of that precious
little lamb, and you had better send for Miss Jasmine to keep you
company."

"I am certainly not going to leave Daisy at present," replied
Primro