His uncle and Mrs. Vansittart approached. The lady's face was no longer hidden.
"What are you going to do with those children?" she inquired.
"There's none here to claim them," he said. "I can't let them leave me in that haphazard way."
"Let me help you. It is a woman's privilege."
She stooped towards the tiny mites.
"You dear little babes," she said softly, "I can take mother's place for a time."
They knew her quite well, of course, and she seemed to be so much kinder and nicer now in her smart clothes than she was in the crowded disorder of the bedroom.
Mamie looked at Elsie, and the self-reliant Elsie said valiantly:
"Mamie 'n' me'll be glad, if Mr. Pyne comes too."
Mr. Traill, who had never before seen tears in Mrs. Vansittart's eyes, found a ready excuse for her womanly sympathy.