; he speaks in just the same easy running way, and constantly
says things one would be glad to remember. They don't understand him,
Bower, and Bunce, and the others; they don't _feel_ his words as they
ought to. I'm afraid he'll only have two or three when he begins again.'

Mrs. Grail turned presently to a different topic.

'Would you believe, Gilbert!' she murmured. 'Those two girls have saved
up more than a pound to buy that poor old Mr. Boddy a top-coat for
Christmas. When I went up with the jelly, Thyrza had the money out on
the table; she told me as a great secret what it was for. Kind-hearted
things they are, both of them.'

Gilbert assented silently. His mother seldom elicited a word from him
on the subject of the sisters.

On the following afternoon, Gilbert and Egremont met at the appointed
place just as three was striking. Already night had begun to close in,
a sad wind moaned about the streets, and the cold grey of the sky was
patched about with dim shifting black clouds. Egremont was full of
cheeriness as he shook hands.

'What a wonderful people we are,' he exclaimed, 'to have developed even
so much civilisation in a climate such as this!'

The school building which they were about to inspect stood at the
junction of two streets, which consisted chiefly of dwellings. In the
nature of things it was ugly. Three steps led up to the narrow
entrance, which, as well as the windows on the ground floor, was
surrounded with a wholly inappropriate pointed arch. Iron railings ran
along the two sides which abutted upon pavements, and by the door was a
tall iron support for a lamp; probably it had never been put to its
use. There was only one upper storey, and the roof was crowned with a
small stack of hideous metal chimneys.

'We must go round to the caretaker's house,' said Egremont, when they
had cast their eyes over the face of the edifice.

The way was by a narrow passage between the school itself and the
whitewashed side of an adjacent house; this led them into a small paved
yard, upon which looked the windows of the caretaker's dwelling, which
was the rear portion of the school building. A knock at the door
brought a very dirty and very asthmatical old woman, who appeared to
resent their visit. When Egremont expressed his desire to go over the
school, she muttered querulously what was understood to be an
invitation to enter. Followed by Gilbert, Egremont was conducted along
a pitch-dark passage.

'Min