“Oh,” said her mother, sinking her voice and casting a scared glance at her. “You was thinkin’ maybe father ’ud give your ’usband Jim’s place when he’ve a-left?” “Well,” rejoined Alice, instantly on the defensive, “it do seem hard as father should be willin’ to pay away all that to a stranger when his own flesh an’ blood is pretty nigh starvin’. There! mother, I do assure ’ee there’s times when I wonder where I’m to get the next bit to put in little Abel’s mouth. Many a time I go hungry myself, an’ that’s not so very good for me nor for baby.” “Dear heart alive!” groaned Mrs Bolt, dropping into the opposite chair and resting a hand on either knee. “God knows I’m broken-hearted to think o’ your bein’ in sich trouble—broken-hearted I be!” “That little house o’ Jim Pike’s ’ud do us nicely,” went on Alice eagerly. “’Tis a snug little place, an’ it ’ud be nice to be near you, mother.” “It would,” agreed Mrs Bolt, sucking in her breath, and exhaling it again with a deep sigh. “It would jist about. I’d love to have the childern trottin’ in an’ out, an’ you an’ me could help each other, Alice.” “We could,” agreed Alice, eyeing her mother with pathetic anxiety. “But father be sich a terr’ble one for stickin’ to a notion,” went on Mrs Bolt gloomily. “He’ve reg’lar took again’ your ’usband, reg’lar took again’ him he have.” “Well, ’tis a hard world,” said Alice, rising hurriedly. “I’d best go home-along. There’s not mich use my bidin’ here—but I did have hopes. ’Tisn’t as if I was axin’ for a favour—I only want Ned to get the chance father be willin’ to give any other man. But we’ll never have a chance here—I see that. I wish to the Lard we could scrape up enough money to take us out abroad too. I’d be willin’ enough to emmygrate, and so would Ned—nobody wants us here!” Mrs Bolt gazed at her daughter meditatively, laying a restraining hand upon her arm to prevent her departure. “Jim Pike’s brother Robert, what emmygrated first, went travellin’ by hissel’,” she observed. “He didn’t take his wife an’ childern wi’ en—he couldn’t afford the expense, d’ye see, but as soon as he were doin’ well he sent for ’em to come an’ j’ine him.” “Well?” said Alice doubtfully, as she paused. “Well,” continued her mother, “there, sit ye down, my dear. I can’t say all what’s in my mind if I think you’m ready to rush off every minute. Sit down an’ let’s talk proper. Now see here, the notion did come to I all at once while ye was talkin’ jist now. Why shouldn’t Ned go out abroad wi’ Jim Pike an’ look for work out in Ameriky? You could come to us while ye was waitin’—father ’ud be pleased enough to have you an’ the childern.” “Mother!” exclaimed Alice indignantly. She would have started from her chair again had not Mrs Bolt pinned her to her seat with one large heavy hand.