The day passed over the wretched family. Ella lay on the bed in
silence throughout, what appeared to her, the long and weary hours;
the little boy called every few minutes for bread, and as his infant
voice uttered the call, the agony of Mrs. Wentworth increased. Thus
was the day passed, and as the dusk of evening spread its mantle over
the town, the soldier's wife prepared to receive her summons for
ejectment. She was not kept waiting long. No sooner had the darkness
set in, than Mr. Elder, accompanied by another man, opened the door
and entered the room.

"Well," he said, "have you succeeded in procuring money to pay the
rent."

"I have not," Mrs. Wentworth answered.

"I suppose you have made arrangements to go somewhere else then," he
remarked.

"No," she replied. "My child has been ill all day long, and I was
compelled to remain here and attend to her wants."

"That is very unfortunate," Mr. Elder remarked, "for this gentleman,"
pointing to the stranger who accompanied him, "has made arrangements
to take the room, and will move into it to-night.".

"Will he not wait until the morning," she enquired.

"I do wot know," he replied. "Will you," he asked, speaking to the
man, "be willing to wait until to-morrow before you take possession?"