W. Pett Ridge

“ Gertie Higham," solemnly, "this isn't what I call friendship."
The girl went straight through the shop, and looking up and down Praed Street, remarked to Mrs. Mills that it intended to be a fine evening. The elder lady said it was high time Gertie found a young man to take her out; the girl answered composedly that perhaps Mr. Trew might call and do her this service.
"Or Fred Bulpert?" remarked the aunt pointedly.
"No," she answered, "not Mr. Bulpert, thank you. Mr. Trew is different."
"He isn't the man he was when I first knew him."
"I like him because he's the man he is." ”

“ Trew, disregarding rules of etiquette, sat down, whilst the two stood, and became greatly interested in the mechanism of a cigar-cutter.
"Who told you all this, aunt?" asked the girl calmly, when Mrs. Mills had finished.
"The lady customer who was here when you went out. Do you deny it? Of course, if it isn't correct that you've been seen walking about with a young swell, I've lost my temper for nothing."
"Girls will be girls," interposed Mr. Trew.
"Not in my house."
"It's all perfectly correct," announced Gertie.
Mrs. Mills looked around in a dazed way.
"Trew," she cried, "what's to be done?" ”

“ Mrs. Mills ordered the hat to be put on that she might ascertain whether it suited, and this done, and guarded approval given, asked to be allowed to try it on her own head. Here, again, the results, inspected in the large mirror set in a narrow wooden frame above the mantelpiece, gained commendation; Mrs. Mills declared she would feel inclined to purchase a similar hat, only that Praed Street might say she was looking for a second husband. Besides, she never went out.
"Your poor mother was just as handy with her needle as what you are. ”

“ Mills in a position that commanded a view of the shop. Mr. Trew had brought a bag of prawns in the tail-pocket of his coat, secured, he asserted, after enormous trouble and expense from the sea coast of Marylebone Road that very afternoon; they were, anyway, good prawns, and went admirably with thin bread and butter, and Gertie would have eaten more but for anxiety concerning progress of the hands of the clock. Mr. Trew, discussing the products of the sea, regretted that he was bound, by his work, to London—
"Horses is my occupation," he said, "but the ocean's my hobby." ”

“ Some one entered the shop.
"Your friend Miss Radford," she announced. "Now there won't be a chance for any one else to speak."
The visitor justified the prophecy, by entering the parlour with a breathless "Oh, I've got such news!" checking herself on encountering Mrs. Mills. Mrs. Mills asked, with reserve, concerning the health of Miss Radford's mother, and mentioned (not apparently for the first time) that the lady, in her opinion, ought to be living on a gravel soil. ”

“ Trew, as the ambulance stopped at the hospital, "he's going to the right place to get repaired."
"It's to be hoped he has friends."
"Everybody's got the friends they deserve to have. Are we going the direction to suit you, missy, or would you rather have gone Edgware Road way?"
"Let's turn down London Street," she suggested. "It will be quiet there. I've something to tell you." She rolled her parasol carefully. "And I want your help, Mr. Trew."
Three youths near the underground station, with apparently no urgent occupation, came forward hopefully on seeing Gertie ”

“ But what I want to tell you, missy, is that, all that time, I've never seen any good resulting from a girl in your position of life becoming friendly with any chap who was considerably above her in regard to what we call social status. ”

“ He ought to keep to his own sphere. There's a lot of talk about breaking down the barriers that divide one class from another, but, I tell you, it's a job that wants very careful handling. And I've got as much sense as most, and I rather enjoy interfering with other people's affairs, but this is an undertaking I don't care to tackle. ”

“ Gertie followed. Conversation between the two ladies had been interrupted by the same cause and they were outside the doorway, looking on at a small crowd that acted as escort to an ambulance in charge of two policemen; the aim of every one appeared to be to snatch the privilege of securing a view of the man partly hidden by the brown hood of the conveyance. Mrs. Mills sent the customer across to obtain particulars, and remarking cheerfully to Mr. Trew and the girl, "You two off? ”

“ The shop bell rang. Mrs. Mills half rose and recognized the customer. "We are now about to get all the news of the neighbourhood," she said desolately.
Gertie anticipated her, and, going in, served the lady with a copy of Fireside Love Stories. Returned with an imperative message.
"I shall have to see her," admitted Mrs. Mills. "She won't be happy until she gets some piece of scandal off her mind."
"Fair one," said Trew, with a wave of his hand, "every moment will seem like a century until you return!"
Gertie was fixing her newly-trimmed hat with the aid of the mirror, and Mr. ”