er so that she could hardly find strength with
which to tear open the missive. When she finally did so, she read:
"Come at once, much trouble," scrawled in Mrs Trivett's writing.

Mavis, scarcely knowing what she was doing, reached for her hat, the
while Miss Toombs watched her with sympathetic eyes. At the same time,
one of the factory foremen came into the office and put an envelope
into Mavis's hand. She paid no attention to this last beyond stuffing
it into a pocket of her frock. Her one concern was to reach the
Broughton Road with as little delay as possible. Once outside the
factory, she closely questioned the boy as he ran beside her, but he
could tell her nothing beyond that Mrs Trivett had given him a penny to
bring Mavis the note. When Mavis, breathless and faint, arrived at Mrs
Trivett's gate, she saw two or three people staring curiously at the
cottage. She all but fell against the door, and was at once admitted by
Mrs Trivett.

"The worst! Let me know the worst!" gasped the terror-stricken girl.

Mavis was told that her baby was ill with diphtheria; also, that a
broker's man was in possession at Mrs Trivett's.

"Will he get over it?" was Mavis's next question.

"It's for a lot of money. It's just on thirty pounds."

"I mean my boy."

"The doctor has hopes. He's coming in again presently."

Mavis hurried to the stairs leading to her bedroom. As she went up
these, she brushed against a surly-looking man who was coming down. She
rightly judged him to be the man in possession. She found the little
sufferer stretched upon his bed of pain with wildly dilating eyes; it
wrung Mavis's heart to see what difficulty he had with his breathing.
If she could only have done something to ease her baby's sufferings,
she would have been better able to bear the intolerable suspense. She
realised that she could do nothing till the doctor paid his next visit.
But she had forgotten; one thing she could do: she could pray for
divine assistance to the Heavenly Father who was able to heal all
earthly ills. This she did. Mavis prayed long and earnestly, with words
that came from her heart. She told Him how she had endured pain,
sorrow, countless debasing indignities without murmuring; if only in
consideration of these, she begged that the life of her little one
might be spared.

Whilst thus engaged, Mavis heard a tap at the door. She got up
impatiently as she called to whomsoever it might be to enter.

Mrs Trivett came in