t, alone, the forewoman begged her in a low, confidential whisper
not to put off till to-morrow anything she could do to-day, adding that
procrastination was the thief of time.

"The fact is," said Miss Rabbit, with a burst of private candour, "I
don't care what happens so long as you are safe. Very strange, isn't
it, dear?"

It seemed to the perplexed girl, at this period, that life was made up
of incidents which could not be spoken about freely. There was no one
with whom she could share the knowledge acquired at Wallingford; that
had to be endured alone. At Praed Street she found her aunt gazing at
her curiously, sometimes beginning a sentence, and stopping, as one
fearful of trespassing on prohibited ground. When Mr. Trew called, he
and Mrs. Mills conferred in undertones, breaking off when the girl came
near, and speaking, in an unconvincing way, of an interesting murder in
South London; Trew thought the police could find the missing man if
they only went the right way about it. Great Titchfield Street, from
eight o'clock in the morning till nearly eight at night, appeared to be
enveloped in a dense fog, with Madame showing none of the distraction
of mind natural to one on the edge of a financial crisis, and Bunny
conveying friendliness by nods and furtive winks; the girls, as always,
chattered freely of their small romances, not concealing their derisive
attitude towards young men, excepting as means of escort and paymasters
where sweets and tram-tickets were involved; any slackening of
attention in these details, and dark hints were given of an intention
of giving the sack. Listening, Gertie came to the conclusion that her
own case was unique, in that she had allowed Henry Douglass to assume
the position of autocrat. One of the men who worked the netting
machine spoke to her exultantly of wisdom in managing his wife; the
method adopted was, it seemed, to contradict every blessed thing she
said.

On the top of all this comes Frederick Bulpert, encountered near
Queen's Hall one evening at five minutes to eight, trying to make up
his mind whether to spend a shilling on a promenade concert or to
disburse the money on a steak--Bulpert very glad to meet Gertie,
because he has something to say to her that he cannot speak of to any
one else; something which must be regarded (says Frederick) as strictly
_entre nous_. A spot of rain, and the stout young man says with a
reckless air, "Oh, come on in!" and Gertie a