s turned of

both girls went on with what they were doing. There was something grim about the task. One associates the alteration of frills and furbelows with some small pleasure

an shawls into an effective dress for Maggy. The work was too hastily done to bear inspection

nished machining with a savage jerk, l

d. "I'll get up half an ho

alf an hour. Besides, she knew that Maggy in the cashmere shawl arr

he answered without looking up

tween the acts. She did not even trouble to take the paint off her face. She got into bed and lay wa

o bed without more ado than Maggy had shown; but habit was not to be denied. She knew she would not be able to rest properly unless s

eping yo

ouldn't wash to-night. And I knew my hair'd be a mat

no harm in girls doing it if the

er made up my face fr

said prayers. To see Alexandra say them, she said, was the nearest she wo

that we're at the end of our te

Maggy was sitting up in bed watchin

you believe somebody hears

es

s what y

in th

o pay for it. If we don't do wrong, we have to pay just the same. We're made so that we're not fit to be working all the time. Oh, it's a hell of a world for women! I can stand anything when I feel it's fair and j

ourts are

n't. It's all too hard to fight against, and one can't make head or tail of it. Look at the White Slave Traffic. They'll flog a man if they catch him at it, but they won't flog De Freyne and give him hard labor for the dirty work he's doing every day of his life, though everybody knows about it. Why, he's only a-what's it

the darkness one could just make out the t

fter a pause. "When one meets the man one cares about

mes to a woman with a clean slate. Why should t

bly have. For myself, I know I would rather show a clean slate to the man I loved and who loved me in a decent way whatever his

it, and the men are the flies buzzing round. They won't leave us alone. They make it almost impossible for us to live a decent life. And if it's decent it isn't beautiful. You can't call it b

our littl

enjoy cutting a dash and having everything I want and going one better than the other girls who crow over us, and snapping my fingers at the management like Mortimer did to-day. If a man was going to marry

her side, and the

street subsided. Only an occasional footfall was heard or a cart rumbling

irls

ndow curtain. Maggy woke and peered thro

ough she were de

if that was t