Warmed and fed, Johnny crept up the sleeve of Verona's flannel jacket, and there slept the sleep of exhausted infancy. For the first day or two he was weakly and timid, and whenever he was startled immediately sought refuge up Verona's sleeve! But he throve; he was promoted from a bit of sponge to an egg-spoon and a morsel of rice, and in a short time Johnny began to realise himself, to flit about the room, to dress his fur and to take an interest in his personal appearance! And Johnny gave Verona something to think of, and attract her thoughts outwards; he did her ten times more good than her grandmother's most warranted charm. She and Johnny had something in common; and when she felt the forlorn little animal trembling in her sleeve, she recognised that here was a fellow sufferer, who, like herself, was despairing and desolate in the midst of unfamiliar surroundings. Verona and Johnny became fast friends; at the sound of her call he would dart to her side, no matter how absorbing his occupation. He was seeing the great big world for the first time from the splendid vantage ground of a back verandah! Nani--as already mentioned--slept in her granddaughter's room. She also not infrequently took her meals there, and her manner of eating was a complete revelation to the beholder, who never wearied of the spectacle. Nani loved curry and rice--oh, such curry and rice as never was tasted on sea or shore in the Western hemisphere! The meal was served in two bowls--the curry, consisting of pieces of meat or fowl, thick rich yellow gravy, charged with all manner of spices and condiments, _so_ hot. Verona once ventured to taste a mouthful, and the result was a gasping, a spluttering, and several irrepressible tears. For here was the real true and only curry (no English make-believe), but such as was eaten by the natives on the West Coast. One bowl contained the notable comestible, and the other was filled with flaky rice. Into the curry Mrs. Lopez plunged a plump and eager hand, seized a morsel, then she dipped the same hand into the rice; in a moment it became a neat and shapely ball; the next instant it had disappeared for ever in her mouth. Nani continued the process until both bowls were empty, not a trace of curry or even a grain of rice remained. It was all assimilated with extraordinary dexterity and despatch. When the meal had ended and the bowls had been removed, Nani would declare: "After such food one can seat oneself like a king! Now, that is how we are intended to eat; it is the best way, and see, I make no mess--no more than you and your bread and butter. I can use a knife and fork as well as any one, but the fingers are best. Wash them, and there is no trouble. Some day you will like it too, child." But Verona only shook her head and smiled incredulously. "How old are you, Nani?" she asked.