and I'll play about with their front-door till--"

He broke off abruptly as his daughter, darting into the room, closed the
door with a bang that nearly extinguished the lamp, and turned the key.
Before her flushed and laughing face Mr. Spriggs held his peace.

"What's the matter?" she asked, eying him. "What are you looking like
that for?"

"Too much draught--for your mother," said Mr. Spriggs, feebly. "I'm
afraid of her asthma agin."

He fell to work on the collar once more, and, escaping at last from the
clutches of that enemy, laid it on the table and unlaced his boots. An
attempt to remove his coat was promptly frustrated by his daughter.

"You'll get doing it when you come round to see us," she explained.

Mr. Spriggs sighed, and lighting a short clay pipe--forbidden in the
presence of his future son-in-law--fell to watching mother and daughter
as they gloated over dress materials and discussed double-widths.

"Anybody who can't be 'appy with her," he said, half an hour later,
as his daughter slapped his head by way of bidding him good-night, and
retired, "don't deserve to be 'appy."

"I wish it was over," whispered his wife. "She'll break her heart if
anything happens, and--and Gus-sie will be out now in a day or two."

"A gal can't 'elp what her uncle does," said Mr. Spriggs, fiercely; "if
Alfred throws her over for that, he's no man."

"Pride is his great fault," said his wife, mournfully. .

"It's no good taking up troubles afore they come," observed Mr. Spriggs.
"P'r'aps Gussie won't come ere.

"He'll come straight here," said his wife, with conviction; "he'll come
straight here and try and make a fuss of me, same as he used to do when
we was children and I'd got a ha'penny. I know him."

"Cheer up, old gal," said Mr. Spriggs; "if he does, we must try and get
rid of 'im; and, if he won't go, we must tell Alfred that he's been to
Australia, same as we did Ethel."

His wife smiled faintly.

"That's the ticket," continued Mr. Spriggs. "For one thing, I b'leeve
he'll be ashamed to show his face here; but, if he does, he's come back
from Australia. See? It'll make it nicer for 'im too. You don't suppose
he wants to boast of where he's been?"

"And suppose he comes while Alfred is here?" said his wife.

"Then I say, 'How 'ave you left 'em all in Australia?' and wink at him,"
said the ready Mr. Spriggs.

"And s'pose you're not here?" objected his wife.

"Then you say it and wink at him," was th