Page:A Child of the Jago - Arthur Morrison.djvu/118

 the dry little mouth rejected the morsel and the head turned feverishly from side to side to the sound of that novel cry. She was hot wherever Dicky touched her, and presently he said:—"Mother, I b'lieve Looey 's queer. I think she wants some med'cine."

His mother shook her head peevishly. "O you an' Looey 's a noosance," she said. "A lot you care about me bein' queer, you an' yer father too, leavin' me all alone like this an' me feelin' ready to drop, an' got the room to do an' all. I wish you 'd go away an' stop 'inderin' of me like this."

Dicky took but another look at Looey and then slouched out. The landing was clear, and the Ropers' door was shut. He wondered what had become of the stranger with the tall hat—whether he was in the Ropers' room or not. The thought hurried him, for he feared to have that stranger asking him questions about the clock. He