Page:Gissing - The Nether World, vol. III, 1889.djvu/80



a tenement on the same staircase, two floors below, lived a family with whom John Hewett was on friendly terms. Necessity calling these people out of London for a few days, they had left with John the key of their front door; a letter of some moment might arrive in their absence, and John undertook to re-post it to them. The key was hung on a nail in Clara’s room.

“I’ll just go down and see if the postman’s left anything at Mrs. Holland’s this morning,” said Amy Hewett, coming in between breakfast and the time of starting for school.

She reached up to the key, but Clara, who sat by the fire with a cup of tea on her lap, the only breakfast she ever took, surprised her by saying, “You needn’t trouble, Amy. I shall be going out soon, and I’ll look in as I pass.”