"It was always more than I could do to stand a hint of that kind. Not so long ago I used to lose my temper, but I've taken pattern by Polly--I mean Miss Sparkes--and now I do it quietly. That reminds me"--his look changed to seriousness--"do you know anyone of the name of Quodling?" Polly--to whom he spoke--answered with a dry negative. "Sure? Try and think if you ever heard your uncle speak of the name." The girl's eyes fell as if, for some reason, she felt a momentary embarrassment. It passed, but in replying she looked away from Mr. Gammon. "Quodling? Never heard it--why?" "Why, there is a man called Quodling who might be your uncle's twin brother--he looks so like him. I caught sight of him in the City, and tracked him till I got to know his place of business and his name. For a minute or two I thought I'd found your uncle; I really did. Gosh! I said to myself, there's Clover at last! I wonder I didn't pin him like a bull terrier. But, as you know, I'm cautious--that's how I've made my fortune, Polly." Miss Sparkes neither observed the joke nor resented the name; she was listening with a preoccupied air. "You'll never find _him_," said Mrs. Bubb, shaking her head. "Don't be so sure of that. I shan't lose sight of this man Quodling. It's the strangest likeness I ever saw, and I shan't be satisfied till I've got to know if he has any connexion with the name of Clover. It ain't easy to get at, but I'll manage it somehow. Now, if I had Polly to help me--I mean Miss Sparkes--" With a muttering of impatience the girl rose; in the same moment she drew from her belt a gold watch, and deliberately consulted it. Observing this Mrs. Bubb looked towards Mr. Gammon, who, also observant, returned the glance. "I shan't want dinner," Polly remarked in an off-hand way as she moved towards the door. "Going to see Mrs. Clover?" Gammon inquired. "I'm sick of going there. It's always the same talk." "Wait till _your_ 'usband runs away from you and stays away for five years," said Mrs. Bubb with a renewal of anger, "and then see what _you_ find to talk about." Polly laughed and went away humming. "If it wasn't that I feel afraid for her," continued Mrs. Bubb in a lower voice, "I'd give that young woman notice to quit. Her cheek's getting past everything. Did you see her gold watch and chain?" "Yes, I did; where does it come from?" "That's more than _I_ can tell you, Mr. Gammon. I don't want to think ill of the girl, but there's jolly queer goin's-on. And she's so brazen about it! I don't know what to think." Gammon knitted his brows and gazed round the kitchen. "I think Polly's straight," he observed at length. "I don't seem to notice anything wrong with her except her cheek and temper. She'll have to be taken down a peg one of these days, but I don't envy the man that'll have the job. It won't be me, for certain," he added with a laugh. Moggie came into the room, bringing a telegram.