rder, to resume his experiences during this
strange hour. An extreme weariness was possessing him, as though he had
been straining his intellect in attention to some difficult subject.
And all at once the dank, cold atmosphere of the room struck into his
blood; he had a fit of trembling.

'Let us say good-bye for the present.'

Clara gave her hand silently. He touched it for the first time, and
could not but notice its delicacy; it was very warm, too, and moist.
Without speaking she went with him to the outer door. His footsteps
sounded along the stone staircase; Clara listened until the last echo
was silent.

She too had begun to feel the chilly air. Hastily putting on her hat,
she took up the lamp, glanced round the room to see that nothing was
left in disorder, and hastened up to the fifth storey.

In the middle room, through which she had to pass, her father and Mr.
Eagles were talking together. The latter gave her a 'good-evening,'
respectful, almost as to a social superior. Within, Amy and Annie were
just going to bed. She sat with them in her usual silence for a quarter
of an hour, then, having ascertained that Eagles was gone into his own
chamber, went out to speak to her father.

'My friend came,' she said. 'Do you suspect who it was?'

'Why, no, I can't guess, Clara.'

'Haven't you thought of Mr. Kirkwood?'

'You don't mean that?'

'Father, you are quite mistaken about Jane Snowdon--quite.'

John started up from his seat.

'Has he told you so, himself?'

'Yes. But listen; you are not to say a word on that subject to him. You
will be very careful, father?'

John gazed at her wonderingly. She kissed his forehead, and withdrew to
the other room.

CHAPTER XXXII

A HAVEN

John Hewett no longer had membership in club or society. The loss of
his insurance-money made him for the future regard all such
institutions with angry suspicion. 'Workin' men ain't satisfied with
bein' robbed by the upper classes; they must go and rob one another.'
He had said good-bye to Clerkenwell Green; the lounging crowd no longer
found amusement in listening to his frenzied voice and in watching the
contortions of his rugged features. He discussed the old subjects with
Eagles, but the latter's computative mind was out of sympathy with zeal
of the tumid description; though quite capable of working himself into
madness on the details of the Budget, John was easily soothed by his
friend's calmer habits of debate. K