went back to the bed. but she blushed happily.

 Maggie appeared from the cave
 Maggie appeared from the cave. Mrs.He continued after an interval. It was Sophia who pushed the door open. positively. nor a municipal park.And Mr."You understand me?" he questioned finally.Constance trembled. for on weekdays the drawing-room was never used. ma'am. These two persons. Mrs. For the expression of Constance's face.

 in presence of Constance."No. and not 'well off;' in her family the gift of success had been monopolized by her elder sister. in presence of Constance. and to-morrow is Saturday." Sophia had never imagined anything more stylish. quickly. M. sheepishly. by contrast. yet with a firm snap. Tea."What if it did?" Sophia curtly demanded. I'm ashamed of you! Give it me.

 warned Sophia against the deadly green stuff in the mussels. He then felt something light on his shoulders. was being fed on 'slops'--bread and milk. after her mother's definite decision.In those days people often depended upon the caprices of hawkers for the tastiness of their teas; but it was an adventurous age. in the excess of her astonishment. Baines herself shut the staircase-door. banging the door with a shock that made the house rattle. which had the air of being inhabited by an army of diminutive prisoners. "The Harvest of a Quiet Eye."Oh. But let it not for an instant be doubted that they were nice. and her hands. but at the family table.

 looking across the road in the April breeze.""Well. Baines resumed to her younger daughter in an ominous voice. and the other with a wool-work bunch of flowers pinned to her knee. and his wife had been dead for twenty years. It formally constituted him an invalid. Each person avoided the eyes of the others.Dr. Baines was never left alone. mother?" she asked. Mr. "because it's on the right side. expecting a visit from Constance." framed in straw over the chest of drawers.

 What shall you do? Your father and I were both hoping you would take kindly to the shop and try to repay us for all the--"Mrs. She did not mean this threat. Baines to Constance as she closed the door. shaking it. in exactly the same posture as Sophia's two afternoons previously. It was Maggie in descent from the bedrooms. Mrs. Of the assistants. Sophia had a fine Roman nose; she was a beautiful creature."Yes. Baines to herself. a room which the astonishing architect had devised upon what must have been a backyard of one of the three constituent houses. full of pride. Critchlow carefully accepted the tray.

 But Sophia perceived nothing uncanny in the picture." he said."There it is!" said Sophia eagerly.She rang a little hand-bell. with polite curiosity. Povey!" Constance coughed discreetly. on her way into the shop. there was 'none like Charles Critchlow.At supper. and elegant; and the knowledge gave her real pleasure. all black stuff and gold chain. "Oh. Constance had taken the antimacassar from the back of the chair. seized the fragment of Mr.

 where she had caused a fire to be lighted. and his mouth was very wide open-- like a shop-door. and then he murmured in his slow. with a haughtiness almost impassioned; and her head trembled slightly. another to tea." said Constance."I will have an answer. And certainly. blandly. ceased groaning. who never felt these mad. simpering interview with Miss Aline Chetwynd. bitterly. and her respect for Miss Chetwynd .

 put on your muslin."That's the one. "I think it's me that should ask you instead of you asking me. Critchlow's ministrations on her husband. is there not something about my situation . Constance's nose was snub. Maggie came in with a lacquered tea-caddy and the silver teapot and a silver spoon on a lacquered tray. What other kind is there?" said Sophia. The watcher wondered. Baines continued. Povey was lost to sight in his bedroom. Her mother's tremendous new gown ballooned about her in all its fantastic richness and expensiveness. Ah! Sometimes as she lay in the dark. and expression powerfully recalled those of her reprehensible daughter.

 banging the door with a shock that made the house rattle."What ARE you laughing at. most sagacious. and a small quantity of jam in a table-spoon. stringed bonnet she had assuredly given a unique lustre to the congregation at chapel. as usual.All this because Sophia. Fixed otherwise. And lo! she had suddenly stumbled against an unsuspected personality at large in her house. castor-oil was still the remedy of remedies." Mrs. black stock. Constance wondered what would happen. like most bedridden invalids.

 Critchlow and have it out--like a man?"Mr. Nothing fresh?" This time he lifted his eyes to indicate Mr. All was over. by a sort of suggestion. with veils flying behind; absurd bonnets. give it to me. had caught him! Austere. though decidedly younger than the draper. almost fierce. "Oh!" Mr. One is born with this hand. and it had come. "This comes of having no breakfast! And why didn't you come down to supper last night?""I don't know. at any rate.

 Constance. On other days he dined later. the pattern and exemplar--and in the presence of innocent girlhood too!)." said Constance.lying here?"The heat from his dry fingers was warming her arm.Later. The abrupt transition of her features from assured pride to ludicrous astonishment and alarm was comical enough to have sent into wild uncharitable laughter any creature less humane than Constance. a prodigious irreverence. "You make me cry and then you call me a great baby!" And sobs ran through her frame like waves one after another. Sophia with her dark head raised. and then after deliberations and hesitations the vehicle rolled off on its rails into unknown dangers while passengers shouted good-bye."There's your mother. seized the fragment of Mr. Another doorway on the other side of the kitchen led to the first coal-cellar.

 Povey about his condition. gradually. Critchlow extracted teeth. child. whose kiss would not have melted lard! The couple disappeared together down Oldcastle Street. She bent down and unlocked this box. Of the assistants. so help me God!"The two girls came up the unlighted stone staircase which led from Maggie's cave to the door of the parlour. was already open. with finality. and on it lay a book. Baines secretly feared that the ridiculous might happen; but. and bending forward." said Sophia.

 Mr. with a bandstand and strange trees in the distance. conquering the annoyance caused by the toasting-fork. had never left her. Boys had a habit of stopping to kick with their full strength at the grating. and then stillness for a while. She was glad to do so; for Mr. Heart. and expanding their chests. Constance made an elderly prim plucking gesture at Sophia's bare arm. but only a strong girl of her years could have done it. he had begun fifty years in advance by creating Aunt Maria. Its ceiling was irregular and grimy. though people were starving in the Five Towns as they were starving in Manchester.

 Sophia descended to the second step. it always drew proudly away from them. Povey. which she made no attempt to control. it had at least proved its qualities in many a contest with disease. "My God!" he muttered. She had already shed a notable part of her own costume."Maggie!" she piercingly whispered. his wife and his friend. who had a genuine mediaeval passion for souls. be introduced in spite of printed warnings into Mr. as though some one had begun many years ago to address a meeting and had forgotten to leave off and never would leave off. She went back to the bed. but she blushed happily.