tment
and from pathos; 'I want you, please, to say that we can t take anything
after this.'

'But what are you going to do, Emma?'

'To leave this house and live as we did before.'

'Oh, but you can't do that What does Kate say?'

'I haven't told her yet; I'm going to do so to-day.'

'But she'll feel it very hard with the children.'

The children were sitting together in a corner of the kitchen. Emma
glanced at them, and saw that Bertie, the elder, was listening with a
surprised look.

'Yes, I'm sorry,' she replied simply, 'but we have no choice.'

Alice had an impulse of generosity.

'Then take it from _me_,' she said. 'You won't mind that. You know I
have plenty of my own. Live here and let one or two of the rooms, and
I'll lend you what you need till the business is doing well. Now you
can't have anything to say against that?'

Emma still shook her head.

'The business will never help us. We must go back to the old work; we
can always live on that. I can't take anything from you, Alice.'

'Well, I think it's very unkind, Emma.'

'Perhaps so, but I can't help it: It's kind of you to offer, I feel
that; but I'd rather work my fingers to the bone than touch one
halfpenny now that I haven't earned.'

Alice bridled slightly and urged no more. She left before Kate returned.

In the course of the morning Emma strung herself to the effort of
letting her sister know the true state of affairs. It was only what Kate
had for a long time suspected, and she freely said as much, expressing
her sentiments with fluent indignation.

'Of course I know you won't hear of it,' she said, 'but if I was in your
place I'd make him smart. I'd have him up and make him pay, see if I
wouldn't. Trust him, he knows you're too soft-hearted, and he takes
advantage of you. It's girls like you as encourages men to think they
can do as they like. You've no right, you haven't, to let him off. I'd
have him in the newspapers and show him up, see if I wouldn't. And he
shan't have it quite so easy as he thinks neither; I'll go about and
tell everybody as I know. Only let him come a-lecturin' hereabouts,
that's all!'

'Kate,' broke in the other, 'if you do anything of the kind, I don't
know how I shall speak to you again. Its not you he's harmed; you've no
right to spread talk about me It's my affair, and I must do as I think
fit. It's all over and there's no occasion for neither you nor me to
speak of him again I'm going out this aftern