Grannie had been leaning back in a sort of restless attitude. Now she straightened herself up and looked keenly at the boy.
"It means, lad," she said, after a pause, "the sore part means this, that we must give up the little bit of a home."
"We must give it up?" said David, in a blank sort of way. "Oh, wait a while; you don't know about my five shillings a week."
"Dave has got a rise," interrupted Alison. "Mr. Watson thinks a sight of him, and he's to go into the house as a clerk, and he's to have five shillings a week and his meals. So he's provided for."
"But your five shillings a week won't keep up the home, Dave, so there's no use thinking of it, from that p'int o' view."
"Go on, please, Grannie; what else have you and Mr. Williams arranged?"
"It's the Lord has arranged it, child," said Grannie, "it aint Mr. Williams. It's that thought that makes me kind o' cheerful over it."
"But what is it, Grannie? We are to give up the home?"
"Well, the home gives us up," said Grannie, "for we can't keep the rooms ef we can't pay the rent, and the children can't be fed without money. To put it plain, as far as the home goes, we're broke. That's plain English. It's this 'and that has done it, and I'll never believe in eddication from this time forward; but there's no use goin' back on that now. Thank the Lord, I has everything settled and clear in my mind. I pay the last rent come Monday, and out we go."
"But where to?" said Alison. "There's a lot of us, and we must live somewhere."