nice--she wouldn't make em eat stuff like this--she'd give it to
the pigs--'at she would!'

And all the time it was pitiful to see how the child was gobbling
up her unpalatable food, evidently from the instinctive fear, nasty
as it was, that it would be taken from her as a punishment for her
behaviour.

'Now, Louie, yo're a silly gell,' began Reuben, expostulating; but
Hannah interposed.

'I wudn't advise yo, Reuben Grieve, to go wastin your breath on
sich a minx. If I were yo, I'd keep it fur my awn eating.'

And she calmly put another slice of cold bacon on his plate, as
though reminding him of his proper business. Reuben fell silent and
munched his bacon, though he could not forbear studying his niece
every now and then uncomfortably. He was a tall, large-boned man,
with weakish eyes, sandy whiskers and beard, grown in a fringe
round his long face, and a generally clumsy and disjointed air. The
tremulous, uncertain movements of his hand as he stretched it out
for one article of food after another seemed to express the man's
character.

Louie went on gulping down her porridge. Her plate was just empty
when Hannah caught a movement of Reuben's fork. He was in the act
of furtively transferring to Louie a portion of bacon. But he could
not restrain himself from looking at Hannah as he held out the
morsel. Hannah's answering look was too much for him. The bacon
went into his mouth.