only guest up to now, but she is out, and may be a teeny bit drunk when
she comes in. She has gone to draw her money."

"What sort of money?" asked Miss Ford, who was always interested in the
sources of income of the Poor.

"Soldier's allotment. Unmarried wife."

The expression of Miss Ford's face tactfully wiped away this bald
unfortunate statement from the surface of the conversation. "And how do
you make your boarding-house pay," she asked, "if there is no charge for
residence?"

"How d'you mean--pay?" asked the witch. "Pay whom? And what with? Look
here, if you will come and live here you shall have a little Wednesday
every week on the stairs, under license from me. Harold the Broomstick
is apt to shirk cleaning the stairs, but as it happens, he is keeping
company with an O-Cedar Mop in Kentish Town, and I've no doubt she would
come over and do the stairs thoroughly every Tuesday night. Besides, we
have overalls in stock at only two and eleven three----"

"Oh, I like your merry mood," said Miss Ford, laughing heartily. "You
must remember to talk like that when you come to my Wednesdays. Most of
my friends are utter Socialists, and believe in bridging as far as
possible the gulf between one class and another, so you needn't feel
shy or awkward."

The splashing of the ferry-boat was once more heard, and then the shop
quaked a little as a heavy foot alighted on the landing-stage. The
ferryman was heard saying: "I don't know any party of that name, but I