did not go very well with Diamond's father from the
first coming of the horse, Ruby. It almost seemed as if the red beast
brought bad luck with him. The fares were fewer and the pay less.
Ruby's work did indeed make the week's income at first a little more
than it used to be. But then there were two more to feed. After the
first month, however, he fell lame, and for the whole of the next month,
Diamond's father did not dare work him at all. It cost just as much to
feed him and all he did was to stand in the stable and grow fat.

And after he got well again, it was not much better. Times had then
become hard and fewer and fewer people felt that they could afford to
ride in cabs. The cabmen got fewer and fewer shillings to live on.
Diamond's household had less and less to buy food and clothing with.
Then too, Diamond's mother was poorly for a new baby was coming.

Diamond's father began to feel gloomier and gloomier and if Diamond had
not made himself remember that he had been at the back of the north
wind, he would have been gloomy himself. But when his father came home,
Diamond would get out his book and show him how well he could read.
Besides he taught Nanny how to read and as she was a very clever little
girl, she picked it up very fast. Nanny was such a comfort about the
house that Diamond's father just had to cheer up a little when he came
home at night and the dull day's work was over.

After the new baby came, Diamond sang to her and of course he had to
make up new songs to sing to her because she was a little sister baby.
It would never do, he said, to sing the little brother songs to her.
While he sang, his father and mother could not help listening and
forgetting for the time how bad things were getting to be.

The three months Mr. Raymond had spoken of were now gone and Diamond's
father was very anxious for him to come back and take Ruby off his
hands, for he did not seem to work enough to pay for his keep. Then he
was so lazy and fat, while poor old Diamond had got so thin he was just
skin and bones! For Diamond's father was an honest man and felt that he
must stick to his promise to feed Ruby while he kept him, whether old
Diamond got enough to eat or not. But he _did_ wish Mr. Raymond would
come, though when he looked at Nanny he felt that he would be sorry to
lose her. For it was understood that a place as a nurse girl would be
found for her when Ruby was taken away.

Mr. Raymond did not come, howeve