middle of the sitting-room, and through a doorway at the back of the
sitting-room you could see the kitchen, and beyond that the scullery,
and beyond that a back yard with a whitewashed wall.

James Ollerenshaw went in first, leaving Helen to follow. He had learnt
much in the previous hour, but there were still one or two odd things
left for him to learn.

"Ah!" he breathed, shut the door, and hung up his hard hat on the inner
face of it. "Sit ye down, lass."

So she sat her down. It must be said that she looked as if she had made
a mistake and got on to the wrong side of Trafalgar-road. The
sitting-room was a crowded and shabby little apartment (though clean).
There was a list carpet over the middle of the floor, which was tiled,
and in the middle of the carpet a small square table with flap-sides. On
this table was a full-rigged ship on a stormy sea in a glass box, some
resin, a large stone bottle of ink, a ready reckoner, Whitaker's
Almanack (paper edition), a foot-rule, and a bright brass candlestick.
Above the table there hung from the ceiling a string with a ball of
fringed paper, designed for the amusement of flies. At the window was a
flat desk, on which were transacted the affairs of Mr. Ollerenshaw. When
he stationed himself at it in the seat of custom and of judgment,
defaulting tenants, twirling caps or twisting aprons, had a fine view of
the left side of his face. He usually talked to them while staring out
of the window. Before this desk was a Windsor chair. There were eight
other Windsor chairs in the room--Helen was sitting on one that had not
been sat upon for years and years--a teeming but idle population of
chairs. A horsehair arm-chair seemed to be the sultan of the seraglio of
chairs. Opposite the window a modern sideboard, which might have cost