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erchief,shehidherfaceinitandbegantosobbroken-heartedly.Lizalookedatthemotherininterrogation. 'Oh,it'sthetmanagain!'saidthelady,snortingandtossingherhead. 'Not'Arry?'askedLiza,insurprise. 'Not'Arry—'ooisitifitain't'Arry?Thevillin!' 'Wot's'ebeendoin',then?'askedLizaagain. 'Beatin''er,that'swot'e'sbeendoin'!Oh,thevillin,'eoughterbeashimedof'isself'eought!' 'Ididn'tknow'ewaslikethat!'saidLiza. 'Didn'tyer?Ithoughtthe'olestreetknewitbynow,'saidMrs.Cooperindignantly.'Oh,'e'sawrong'un,'eis.' 'Itwasn't'isfault,'putinSally,amidsthersobs'it'sonlybecause'e's'adalittledroptoomuch.'E'sarrightwhen'e'ssober.' 'Alittledroptoomuch!Ishouldjustthink'e'd'ad,thebeast!I'dgiveit'imifIwasaman.They'realllikethet—'usbindsisallalikethey'rearrightwhenthey'resober—sometimes—butwhenthey'vegottheliquorin'em,they'rebeasts,an'nomistike.I'ada'usbindmyselfforfive-an'-twentyyears,an'Iknow'em.' 'Well,mother,'sobbedSally,'itwasallmyfault.Ishould'avecome'omeearlier.' 'Na,itwasn'tyourfaultatall.Justyoulook'ere,Liza:thisiswot'edonean'call'isselfaman.JustbecauseSally'dgoneahtto'aveachatwithMrs.McLeodinthenext'ouse,whenshecomein'estartbangin''erabaht.An'me,too,wotd'yerthinkofthat!'Mrs.Cooperwasquitepurplewithindignation. 'Yus,'shewenton,'thet'samanforyer.Ofcourse,Iwasn'tgoin'terstandtherean'seemydaughterbein'knockedabahtitwasn'tlikely—wasit?An''eroundsonme,an''e'itsmewith'isfist.Look'ere.'Shepulleduphersleevesandshowedtworedandbrawnyarms.''E'sbruisedmyarmsIthought'e'dbrokenitatfust.IfI'adn'tputmyarmup,'e'd'avegotmeonthe'ead,an''emight'avekilledme.An'Isaysto'im,"Ifyoutouchmeagain,I'llgoterthepolice-station,thetIwill!"Well,thatfrightened'imabit,an'thendidn'tIlet'im'aveit!"Youcallyerselfaman,"saysI,"an'youain'tfittercleanthedrainsaht."Youshould'ave'eardthelanguage'eused."Youdirtyoldwoman,"says'e,"yougoawayyou'realwaysinterferin'withme."Well,Idon'tliketerrepeatwot'esaid,andthet'sthetruth.An'Isayster'im,"Iwishyer'dnevermarriedmydaughter,an'ifI'dknownyouwaslikethisI'd'avediedsoonerthanletyer."' 'Well,Ididn'tknow'ewaslikethet!'saidLiza. ''Ewasarrightatfust,'saidSally. 'Yus,they'realwaysarrightatfust!Butterthinkitshould'avecometothisnow,whentheyain'tbeenmarriedthreemonths,an'thefirstchildnotbornyet!Ithinkit'sdisgraceful.' Lizastayedalittlewhilelonger,helpingtocomfortSally,whokeptpatheticallytakingtoherselfalltheblameofthedisputeandthen,biddinghergoodnightandbetterluck,sheslidofftomeetJim. Whenshereachedtheappointedspothewasnottobefound.Shewaitedforsometime,andatlastsawhimcomeoutoftheneighbouringpub. 'Goodnight,Jim,'shesaidasshecameuptohim. 'Soyou'veturnedup,'aveyer?'heansweredroughly,turninground. 'Wot'sthematter,Jim?'sheaskedinafrightenedway,forhehadneverspokentoherinthatmanner. 'Nicethingterkeepmewitin'allnightforyertocomeaht.' Shesawthathehadbeendrinking,andansweredhumbly. 'I'mverysorry,Jim,butIwentintoSally,an''erbloke'adbeenknockin''erabaht,an'soIsatwith'erabit.' 'Knockin''erabaht,'ad'e?andserve'erdamnwellrighttooan't