nodded. Suddenly she roused
herself with a start, fancying she had heard something; she listened
again, and in a moment the sound was repeated, three or four gentle
taps on the window. She opened it quickly and whispered:

'Jim.'

'Thet's me,' he answered, 'come aht.'

Closing the window, she went into the passage and opened the street
door; it was hardly unlocked before Jim had pushed his way in; partly
shutting it behind him, he took her in his arms and hugged her to his
breast. She kissed him passionately.

'I thought yer'd come ter-night, Jim; summat in my 'eart told me so.
But you 'ave been long.'

'I wouldn't come before, 'cause I thought there'd be people abaht.
Kiss us!' And again he pressed his lips to hers, and Liza nearly
fainted with the delight of it.

'Let's go for a walk, shall we?' he said.

'Arright!' They were speaking in whispers. 'You go into the road
through the passage, an' I'll go by the street.'

'Yus, thet's right,' and kissing her once more, he slid out, and she
closed the door behind him.

Then going back to get her hat, she came again into the passage,
waiting behind the door till it might be safe for her to venture. She
had not made up her mind to risk it, when she heard a key put in the
lock, and she hardly had time to spring back to prevent herself from
being hit by the opening door. It was a man, one of the upstairs
lodgers.

''Ulloa!' he said, ''oo's there?'

'Mr. 'Odges! Strikes me, you did give me a turn; I was just goin' aht.'
She blushed to her hair, but in the darkness he could see nothing.

'Good night,' she said, and went out.

She walked close along the sides of the houses like a thief, and the
policeman as she passed him turned round and looked at her, wondering
whether she was meditating some illegal deed. She breathed freely on
coming into the open road, and seeing Jim skulking behind a tree, ran
up to him, and in the shadows they kissed again.

9

Thus began a time of love and joy. As soon as her work was over and
she had finished tea, Liza would slip out and at some appointed spot
meet Jim. Usually it would be at the church, where the Westminster
Bridge Road bends down to get to the river, and they would go off,
arm-in-arm, till they came to some place where they could sit down and
rest. Sometimes they would walk along the Albert Embankment to
Battersea Park, and here sit on the benches, watching the children
play. The female cyclist had almost