“They speak to ’em as if they were dirt.”
“Well, aren’t they?”
“They may be a loose lot, but so are the men.”
“Men wouldn’t be so loose if they weren’t there.”
“I suppose it’s what you call a vicious circle;” and, pleased with his play on words, he added: “One or two of them were pretty.”
His wife smiled; her smile had a natural teasing quality.
“They treat them better, I suppose?”
That was jolly cynical! and he blurted out:
“One, quite young, never there before, they gave her a fortnight just because she hadn’t any money—I couldn’t stick it; I paid her fine.”
There was sweat on his forehead. His wife’s face had gone quite pink.