t do that work!" she said suddenly.

The grey girl smiled. "Oh, I thought that at first." Then, with an
admiring look: "But I do think it's rather a shame for you, you're so
pretty. Perhaps they'd put you on to tabulation work, though that's
awfully dull. We'll ask your cousin."

"No; I'll do the whole or nothing."

"Well," said the grey girl, "I've got one house left to-day. Would you
like to come and see the sort of thing?"

She took a small notebook from a side pocket in her skirt.

"I can't get on without a pocket. You must have something that you can't
leave behind. I left four little bags and two dozen handkerchiefs in
five weeks before I came back to pockets. It's rather a horrid house,
I'm afraid!"

"I shall be all right," said Thyme shortly.

In the shop doorway the young tobacconist was taking the evening air. He
greeted them with his polite but constitutionally leering smile.

"Good-evening, mith," he said; "nithe evening!"

"He's rather an awful little man," the grey girl said when they had
achieved the crossing of the street; "but he's got quite a nice sense of
humour."

"Ah!" said Thyme.

They had turned into a by-street, and stopped before a house which had
obviously seen better days. Its windows were cracked, its doors
unpainted, and down in the basement could be seen a pile of rags, an
evil-looking man seated by it, and a blazing fire. Thyme felt a little
gulping sensation. There was a putrid scent as of burning refuse. She
looked at her companion. The grey girl was consulting her notebook, with
a faint smile on her lips. And in Thyme's heart rose a feeling almost of
hatred for this girl, who was so business-like in the presence of such
sights and scents.

The door was opened by a young red-faced woman, who looked as if she had
been asleep.

The grey girl screwed up her shining eyes. "Oh, do you mind if we come
in a minute?" she said. "It would be so good of you. We're making a
report."

"There's nothing to report here," the young woman answered. But the grey
girl had slipped as gently past as though she had been the very spirit of
adventure.

"Of course, I see that, but just as a matter of form, you know."

"I've parted with most of my things," the young woman said defensively,
"since my husband died. It's a hard life."

"Yes, yes, but not worse than mine--always poking my nose into other
people's houses."

The young woman was silent, evidently surprised.