Page:The Rejuvenation Of Miss Semaphore.pdf/131

 Prudence was rather bewildered by Mrs. Brown's last lengthy and rapid speech, "I never allows no payments to be more than a week in arrears."

What could she mean by that? It really sounded as if she were familiar with transactions of the kind, but surely no respectable married woman, so nice in appearance too, even though her grammar was not faultless, would need more than one child to adopt; so, telling herself she had misunderstood, Prudence paid down the twenty pounds, kissed Augusta, saw Mrs. Brown and that infant into the train, and then relieved, yet with many cares on her mind, made her way back to Beaconsfield Gardens.

Meantime Mrs. Brown, who watched her standing on the platform until the train moved out of the station, began to feel she had made a bad bargain.

"I was a bloomin' idiot not to arsk thirty bob," she muttered, "an' a 'undred down. She's that soft she'd 'ave given it. There! stow it, you brat!" she added with sudden fury, turning to Augusta, who had set up a dismal wail.