nostrils were dilating with the violence of his passion. Mavis
trembled with a fierce, resentful rage.

"Your answer: your answer: your answer?" gasped the man huskily.

"This: this: this!" cried Mavis, punctuating each word with a blow
from her right hand upon Orgles's face. "This: this: this! It's men
like you who drag poor girls down. It's men like you who bring them
to horrible things, which they'd never have dreamed of, if it hadn't
been for you. It's men like you who make wickedness. You're the
worst man I ever met, and I'd rather die in the gutter than be
fouled by the touch of a horrible old beast like you."

Her anger blazed up into a final flame. This gave her strength to
throw the old man from her; he crashed into the grate; she heard his
head strike against the coal-box. Mavis cast one look upon the
shapeless and bleeding heap of humanity and left the room.




CHAPTER NINE

AWING


Mavis was again workless, this time with a capital of fifteen
shillings and sixpence halfpenny.

Immediately after her interview with Orgles, she had gone to her