"Eat it up, quick now, afore she wakes," whispered Mattie; and the children, nothing loth, soon left not a crumb to be seen.
"We don't often get such luck as that," chuckled Mattie, thinking of other times when the need had been as great, and not even a penny loaf wherewith to satisfy the cravings of her hungry charge had been forthcoming.
"Mammie's waking up," whispered Bob, shrinking back into his corner; and the little group in silence fixed their fascinated gaze upon the woman to whom they owed their being, as she yawned and stretched, and, finally, with a succession of groans, turned over, and faced her children.
Can it be the same? Are we not doing Susan Dixon a cruel injustice as we fancy that in yonder bloated face, with its bleared eyes and framework of dishevelled hair, we can discover a resemblance to the bright, happy wife, who, seven years before, had been so unsparing in her condemnation of those who, for the sake of indulging a degraded appetite, wrecked their own prospects, and blasted the young life and future happiness of their helpless offspring? Ah, no! for she, who so proudly had boasted of her own strength, had also been overcome and laid low by the mighty tyrant.
Little by little, with many a struggle at first, and many a fair-sounding promise, did she turn from the beaten track she had marked out for herself, and in the security of which she had prided herself, until now the very desire for a better life seemed hopelessly crushed with every trace of womanly feeling. She looked about in a half-stupified fashion for a while, then raised herself on her elbow, still continuing to groan.
"What's the matter, mammie?" Mattie ventured to ask.
"My head's fit to burst, child; you must fetch me a drop or I shall just go crazy," replied Susan, in thick, husky tones.
"Where's the money, mammie?" tremblingly asked the child, well knowing that the last coin had been spent in their frugal breakfast.
Susan felt in her pocket, and, to Mattie's intense relief, withdrew her hand, simply saying: "Drat it, every penny gone again! Just like my luck!"
Her glance went round the room, but there was absolutely nothing within those four walls which would fetch the price of a morning dram. Presently her eyes rested upon those three bright patches hanging against the discoloured wall, with a curious expression of wonder.