"Can you clean knives and forks as well?" asked Elfie.
Susie nodded. "I know how to do all sorts of cleaning," she said.
"I don't," said Elfie; "I can just clean steps. And so when the people asked me to clean the knives and forks, and I couldn't, they wouldn't let me do the steps. But if you can do all sorts of work, you can soon get some. I'll show you how to manage."
Elfie kept her word. As soon as the last bundle of shirts was carried home, and before the money was expended, the two girls went out together in search of some employment for Susie.
A short distance from Fisher's Lane there was a respectable neighbourhood, where the people seemed to pride themselves on the neatness of their doorsteps, but where very few could afford to keep servants to clean them. Here Elfie had often earned a few pence, and might have gained more, if she could have done more than clean the steps. For occasionally she had been asked to clean knives and forks, and windows. There she brought Susie, and boldly knocked at a door, asking if they wanted the steps cleaned.
"Not to-day," answered the woman; "and besides, the girl who cleans my steps must do the knives and forks as well."
"She can clean knives and all sorts of things," said Elfie, pushing Susie forward.
The woman looked at her. "Have you learned to scrub?" she asked.
"Yes, ma'am," answered Susie quietly.
"Well, then, you may come to me to-morrow and I'll give you something to do."