rs to heave convulsively. At last he
sought relief in occasional mutterings.

"On'y think!" he said, quoting Mrs Willis's words, in a scarcely
audible whisper, "`so gentle, an' lovin', an' tender, an' true, an'
kind'--an' sitch a good boy too--an' _my_ kindly ways is like _his_, are
they? Well, well, Mrs W, it's quite clear that a loo-natic asylum must
be your native 'ome arter this."

"What are you muttering about, Robin?"

"Nuffin' partikler, granny. On'y suthin' about your futur' prospec's.
The gruel's ready, I think. Will you 'ave it now, or vait till you get
it?"

"There--even in your little touches of humour you're so like him!" said
the old woman, with a mingled smile and sneeze, as she slowly rose to a
sitting posture, making a cone of the bedclothes with her knees, on
which she laid her thin hands.

"Come now, old 'ooman," said Slidder seriously, "if you go on jokin'
like that you'll make me larf and spill your gruel--p'raps let it fall
bash on the floor. There! Don't let it tumble off your knees, now; I'd
adwise you to lower 'em for the time bein'. Here's the spoon; it ain't
as bright as I could wish, but you can't expect much of pewter; an' the
napkin--that's your sort; an' the bit of bread--which it isn't too much
for a 'ealthy happetite. Now then, granny, go in and win!"

"_So_ like," murmured the old woman, as she gazed in Slidder's face.
"And it is so good of you to give up your play and come to look after a
helpless old creature like me."

"Yes, it _is_ wery good of me," assented the boy, with an air of
profound gravity; "I was used to sleep under a damp archway or in a wet
cask, _now_ I slumbers in a 'ouse by a fire, under a blankit. Vunce on
a time I got wittles any'ow--sometimes didn't get 'em at all; _now_ I
'ave 'em riglar, as well as good, an' 'ot. In wot poets call `the days
gone by'--an' nights too, let me tell you--I wos kicked an' cuffed by
everybody, an' 'unted to death by bobbies. _Now_ I'm--let alone!
'Eavenly condition--let _alone_! sometimes even complimented with such
pleasant greetings as `Go it, Ginger!' or `Does your mother know you're
out?' Oh yes, granny! I made great sacrifices, I did, w'en I come 'ere
to look arter _you_!"

Mrs Willis smiled, sneezed, and began her gruel. Slidder, who looked
at her with deep interest, was called away by a knock at the door.
Opening it he beheld a tall footman, with a parcel in his hand.

"Does a Mrs Willis live here?" he as