her action
for it."

"Hush, my dear lady--hush! Don't talk so loud. I've done my best for
you, I assure you. I warned you not to bring the action in the first
instance, but when I saw you were determined to bring it, I resolved to
stand by you, and get you through if possible. I briefed excellent
counsel, and really made out a very pretty little case for you."

"Ho! Did you? And never once mentioned my steam plough. I tell you when
I heard all the rubbish your feller spoke I'd have given the case
against him myself. It wasn't my case at all. My case is that I'm a
hard-working woman, who's made herself a good position by being a bit
smarter than other folk. I have a gentleman friend who cares for me
straight and solid for fifteen years, and when he dies he leaves me his
farm and everything he's got. I sell the farm, and get good money for
it, which I don't spend on motor-cars like some folk, but on more
improvements on my own farm. I make my property more valuable, and
_I've_ got to pay for it, if you please. Why, they should ought to pay
me. What's farming coming to, I'd like to know, if we've got to pay for
bettering ourselves? The Government ud like to see all farmers in the
workhouse--and there we'll soon be, if they go on at this rate. And it's
the disrespectfulness to Poor Arthur, too--he left Donkey Street to
me--not a bit to me and the rest to them. But there they go, wanting to
take most of it in Death Duty. The best Death Duty I know is to do what
the dead ask us and not what they'd turn in their graves if they knew
of. And poor Arthur who did everything in the world for me, even down to
marrying my sister Ellen ..."

Edward Huxtable managed to escape.

"Drat that woman," he said to himself--"she's a terror. However, I
suppose I've got to be thankful she didn't try to get any of that off
her chest in Court--she's quite capable of it. Damn it all! She's a
monstrosity--and going to be married too ... well, there are some heroes
left in the world."

Sec.29

Bertie was waiting for Joanna outside the Law Courts. In the stillness
of the August evening and the yellow dusty sunshine, he looked almost
contemplative, standing there with bowed head, looking down at his hands
which were folded on his stick, while one or two pigeons strutted about
at his feet. Joanna's heart melted at the sight of him. She went up to
him, and touched his arm.

"Hullo, ole girl. So here you are. How did it go off?"

"I've lo