ncouraged Lawrence to continue.

"If you wouldn't mind getting a hot bath ready in the kitchen, I will
manage without troubling you."

"I hope, Mr. Lawrence, that I know my place better than that," was the
reply, and forthwith Mrs. Evans, who, beneath a somewhat stern exterior,
possessed a really good heart, took Wikkey under her wing, administered
warmth and restoratives, washed the grimy little form, cropped and
scrubbed the matted locks, and soon the boy, dreamily conscious and
wondrously happy, was lying before a blazing fire, clean and fair to
look on, enveloped in one of Mrs. Evans' own night-dresses. Then the
question arose, where was Wikkey to pass the night, followed by a
whispered dialogue and emphatic "Nothing will be safe" from the lady of
the house. All of which the boy perfectly understanding, he remarked:

"I aint a prig; I'll not take nothink."

There was a touch of injured innocence in the tone; it was simply the
statement of a fact which might easily have been otherwise, and the
entire matter-of-factness of the assertion inspired Lawrence with a good
deal of confidence, together with the cough which returned on the
slightest movement, and would effectually prevent a noiseless evasion on
the part of poor Wikkey. So once more he was lifted up in the strong
arms and carried to a sofa in Lawrence's own room, where snugly tucked
up in blankets, he soon fell asleep. His benefactor, after prolonged
meditation in his arm-chair, likewise betook himself to rest, having
decided that a doctor must be the first consideration on the following
morning, and that the next step would be to consult Reg--Reg would be
able to advise him: it was his business to understand about such
matters.

A terrible fit of coughing proceeding from the sofa awoke Lawrence next
morning, startling him into sudden recollection of the evening's
adventure; and when the shutters were opened Wikkey looked so fearfully
wan and exhausted in the pale gray light, that he made all speed to
summon Mrs. Evans, and to go himself for the doctor. The examination of
the patient did not last long, and at its conclusion the doctor muttered
something about the "workhouse--as of course, Mr. Granby, you are not
prepared----" The look of imploring agony which flashed from the large,
wide-open eyes made Lawrence sign to the doctor to follow him into
another room; but before leaving Wikkey he gave him an encouraging nod,
saying:

"All right, Wikkey. I'll c