She began to cry.
"The nice doctor who saw dad first, and had him taken to hospital, told me that you was here, and I come along the first thing. Dad was gettin' so quiet and sober; and then he met an old pal and they went off drinkin', and he wouldn't let me drive, and we smashed into a wagon, and poor old Tom has had to be killed, and dad was run right over by them great wagon wheels, and our cart be smashed and lots o' crockery. Oh, it's bin a terrible thing for us!"
"Oh dear, oh dear! What will you do? Where are you living, Susy?"
"These 'ere London perleece are such busybodies," sighed Susy. "If I hadn't kep' my head on my shoulders, they'd 'ave lodged me at the station all night; but I knowed we 'ad savin's in the bottom o' my box, and I runs into a small fruiterer's shop close by, and I asks the woman if she'd give me a bed for the night, and I'd pay her for it; and she were a good soul and took me in right away and all the tins and crockery that I had left, and I'm agoin' to sell them to-day to a lady further down the street, who has a shop for such things. I shan't want for money for a bit, Miss Tina, but 'tis dad, poor dad; he were callin' for me all night. I heard he were from a kind nurse who saw me for a minit this mornin'. She's goin' to let me see 'im this arternoon."
"Oh, poor Susy! I wish I was going to stay in London."
"If dad dies," said Susy, struggling with her tears, "I shan't have no one to live for at all."
"But we'll ask God to make him well again."
"Yes," said Susy doubtfully; "but perhaps God don't want to. I'm afraid dad will be a terrible trial to God, for he'll want so much lookin' after, 'specially in London. If I gets him past four or five publics, there's more comin' on, the streets seem crammed wi' 'em. And God were makin' dad good, He really were. He giv' up the drink for a whole week and never thrashed me once. He cried one night and said he did want to be like mother, an' he knelt down and prayed along wi' me! I'm afraid God be awful disappinted wi' 'im. But it warn't his fault, that pal o' his took him right off and made him worse than ever. I do wish you were goin' to stay here, Miss Tina!"
"But you'll have friends, Susy. Such a nice old gentleman is coming to see you; he told me he would. You won't be left alone."
Susy nodded.