Her odd movements caught the women’s eyes, and they asked each other what could be the cause of them.
“I never see her act like that before. Puttin’ on such airs! Dear! dear! Saw ye ever the likes of it?”
“Oh, see her new stockings!” said the younger woman. “What mighty fine ones! Did you ever?”
“I doubt she came by them in no good way,” said the other. “Janet, young un! See here!”
The child stopped, holding up her tattered gown to show her pretty stockings. “Who give you them?” cried the woman who had called her.
The girl replied quietly, “’Twas the Bishop give me ’em.”
At this the women exclaimed in chorus, “The Bishop! That’s a fine tale! How’d you know it was the Bishop?”
Janet said Roy, the newsboy, told her; and the women asked her, “How is it your father hasn’t got hold of ’em? He’d sell ’em for drink inside of a minute.”
“Oh, I only wears ’em on the street,” said Janet, “and I takes ’em off an’ hides ’em before I go home.”
The women begged her to tell them all about it, and settled themselves comfortably to hear the story.