He reached down a hand.

"The boy first," gasped Tilda, "--and quick!"




CHAPTER IV

IN WHICH CHILDE ARTHUR LOSES ONE MOTHER AND GAINS ANOTHER.


"_But and when they came to Easter Gate,
Easter Gate stood wide;
'y' are late, y' are late,' the Porter said;
'This morn my Lady died.'_"--OLD BALLAD.

"Well, in all my born days!" said the young coalheaver again, as he
landed the pair on the canal bank.

He reached down a hand and drew up 'Dolph by the scruff of his neck.
The dog shook himself, and stood with his tail still wagging.

"Shut down the hole," Tilda panted, and catching sight of the iron
cover, while the young man hesitated she began to drag at it with her
own hands.

"Steady on there!" he interposed. "I got five hundred more to deliver."