"But I must, dear. I've got somebody waiting now to see me. Just for a little while, and then I'll look in again. And Pattie will come back. And Dot will be good, won't Dot?"
Cragg went off with a heavy heart, feeling little doubt that his absence was better than his presence at that moment. Mrs. Cragg, left to herself, would no doubt do what lay in her power for the child. So long as he remained, she would go on showing temper.
Dot sobbed quietly, half under the bedclothes, and Mrs. Cragg sat in moody silence. Then she began to grow uneasy. She did not wish Pattie to come back and to find Dot in tears. It would be an admission of failure on her part. So she moved to the chair which Cragg had vacated, and said in a tone meant to be encouraging:
"Come now, Dot, you needn't be a little goose."
Dot shrank from her. That movement went home. With all Mrs. Cragg's faults, she did love her child.
"Come, Dot; don't be cross."
"I not doss! Ma-ma doss."
Another pause.
"Come, don't be silly. What do you want to do? How do you like to be amused?"
"Wants darling own Pattie!"