"Yes," assented Daffy; "we must make haste and ask him."
So Freda called out in her high clear voice:
"Good afternoon, old man; we're very glad to see you. Would you like to sleep at our house this evening? You look very tired."
The tramp looked across at them in surprise. He was not a nice-looking man. He had a thin grey beard and little cunning eyes. His hat had once been a soft black felt, now it was battered and green. He wore a dark green handkerchief round his throat. His coat was out-at-elbows, his trousers were patched at the knees, and frayed out and ragged at the hems.
"Afternoon, Missy!" he said, and his voice was the only pleasant part about him. It was cheery and brisk.
"I'm for having a nap where I am," he said.
"But where are you going to sleep to-night?" asked Daffy.
"I reckon at Doulton Union if I can walk it; but I've blistered me heel and have to go slow. And I've a thirst which rages. Mow I wonder if you've a copper to spare a tired thirsty old man?"
"We haven't any money," said Freda, in a crestfallen voice, "but we've a beautiful bedroom ready for you, and towels, and soap, and candles, and matches, and the bed will be ready for you if you say you'll come. Daffy and me are looking out for a stranger. It's in the Bible that we're to do it, and so we've got it ready."
"I'll tell you how to find the room," said Daffy, bending over from her perch in rather a dangerous fashion. "You come in at the park gates, and go round by the shrubbery to the part of the house that is shut up. The blinds are all down, and there's a balcony outside one window and steps up to it. We'll leave the window unlocked, and you can creep in when dark. Will you come?"