"Well, ma'am, that girl is more than I can understand. If you'll believe me, she just upholds her father in all he does about it, and I can tell you he's one of the busiest of the lot keeping the men together. I told him only yesterday the dock people were sure to hear of it, and if they take the others in by and by, they'll have nothing to do with him, mark my words;" and poor Mrs. Chaplin buried her face in her apron at the thought of the dismal picture she had conjured up the strike over, but her husband wholly unable to get a day's work. "Then Winny takes her father's part, I suppose?" said Mrs. Butter. "Bless you, ma'am, I believe she spends half her time praying to God for the dockers. It ain't herself she's thinking of, I know, for the little bit of food she lives on is something wonderful. Not a word of complaint have I heard about her back either, although she has not had a drop of medicine for nearly a month now." "Well, you need not let the rent worry you, Mrs. Chaplin, for I have made up my mind that I'll wait for it till the strike is over, and then I'll take what's owing a shilling a week till it's cleared off." To hear such news as this seemed almost too good to be true, and the poor woman with the thought of taking home her day's earnings was almost overwhelmed with joy. When she got back at night, Winny had some more good news in store for her. A letter had come from Annie Brown, who had heard about the strike away there in the country, and so for the future she was going to send every penny she could spare out of her wages for fruit-picking to help her father and Winny. She did not know yet that Winny had given up her own chance of a country visit for her to go instead. But she did know that it was Winny's doings that she got the ticket, and so she said that whatever she could send was to be divided with Winny, and the letter had brought ten shillings, so that Winny was able to lay five in her mother's hand when she had read the letter, for Brown had already changed the postal order, and brought her share of the money home that she might have the pleasure of giving it to her mother as soon as she came in. With five shillings in hand, and Letty sure of one meal a day, Mrs. Chaplin felt herself quite rich, and reproached herself for complaining so much. "I was sure God would take care of us," said Winny with a beaming smile. When Chaplin came in and heard the news, he declared that they were safe from starvation now, for the strike must end before this week was over. "We are going in procession to-morrow to the west end; we must let the rich see what hunger means, and I am pretty sure more help will come in. We shall have a good allowance of bread and cheese served out to us before we start, and so we sha'n't hurt." "But I can get you some breakfast to-morrow," said his wife.