it again."

"Done what?" inquired her husband, hunching his shoulders.

"Putting your herringy knife in the butter. Well, you can eat it now;
I won't. A lot of good me slaving from morning to night and buying good
food when you go and spoil it like that."

Mr. Jobling removed the pipe from his mouth. "Not so much of it,"
he commanded. "I like butter with a little flavor to it. As for your
slaving all day, you ought to come to the works for a week; you'd know
what slavery was then."

Mrs. Jobling permitted herself a thin, derisive cackle, drowned
hurriedly in a clatter of tea-cups as her husband turned and looked
angrily up the little passage.

"Nag! nag! nag!" said Mr. Jobling.

He paused expectantly.

"Nag! nag! nag! from morning till night," he resumed. "It begins in the
morning and it goes on till bedtime."

"It's a pity--" began Mrs. Jobling.

"Hold your tongue," said her husband, sternly; "I don't want any of your
back answers. It goes on all day long up to bedtime, and last night I
laid awake for two hours listening to you nagging in your sleep."

He paused again.

"Nagging in your sleep," he repeated.

There was no reply.

"Two hours!" he said, invitingly; "two whole hours, without a stop."

"I 'ope it done you good," retorted his wife. "I noticed you did wipe
one foot when you come in to-night."

Mr. Jobling denied the charge hotly, and, by way of emphasizing his
denial, raised his foot and sent the mat flying along the passage. Honor
satisfied, he returned to the door-post and, looking idly out on the
street again, exchanged a few desultory remarks with Mr. Joe Brown, who,
with his hands in his pockets, was balancing himself with great skill on
the edge of the curb opposite.

His gaze wandered from Mr. Brown to a young and rather stylishly-dressed
woman who was approaching--a tall, good-looking girl with a slight limp,
whose hat encountered unspoken feminine criticism at every step. Their
eyes met as she came up, and recognition flashed suddenly into both
faces.

"Fancy seeing you here!" said the girl. "Well, this is a pleasant
surprise."

She held out her hand, and Mr. Jobling, with a fierce glance at Mr.
Brown, who was not behaving, shook it respectfully.

"I'm so glad to see you again," said the girl; "I know I didn't thank
you half enough the other night, but I was too upset."

"Don't mention it," said Mr. Jobling, in a voice the humility of which
was in strong contrast to the ex