"I went round to see you this morning," ses Mrs. Cook, "but you wasn't at
'ome."

"I never am, 'ardly," ses Charlie. "I can't be--it ain't safe."

"Why not?" ses Mrs. Cook, fidgeting.

"If I was to tell you, you'd lose your good opinion of me," ses Charlie.

"It wouldn't be much to lose," ses Mrs. Cook, firing up.

Charlie didn't answer 'er. When he did speak he spoke to the old man,
and he was so down-'arted that 'e gave 'im the chills a'most, He 'ardly
took any notice of Emma, and, when Mrs. Cook spoke about the shop agin,
said that chandlers' shops was for happy people, not for 'im.

By the time they sat down to supper they was nearly all as miserable as
Charlie 'imself. From words he let drop they all seemed to 'ave the idea
that the police was arter 'im, and Mrs. Cook was just asking 'im for wot
she called the third and last time, but wot was more likely the hundred
and third, wot he'd done, when there was a knock at the front door, so
loud and so sudden that old Cook and young Bill both cut their mouths at
the same time.

"Anybody 'ere o' the name of Emma Cook?" ses a man's voice, when young
Bill opened the door.

"She's inside," ses the boy, and the next moment Jack Bates followed 'im
into the room, and then fell back with a start as 'e saw Charlie Tagg.