Two Litre Pingrims’ Proeress 143

“We're much obliged to you,” she said.

“Tt’s all right,” he said, with eager shyness. “Do
you want some water to wash yourselves with? I
can bring you up a tin basin anda jug. You can set
it on the chair.”

«Thank you,” they said both at once, and Robin
added, “We want washing pretty badly.”

Ben turned about and went downstairs for the
water, as if he felt a sort of excitement in doing the
service. These two children, who looked as poor as .
himself, set stirring strange thoughts in his small
unnourished brain.

He brought back the tin basin and water, a piece
of yellow soap, and even a coarse, rather dingy towel.
He had been so eager that he was out of breath when
he returned; but he put the basin on the chair and
the. tin jug beside it with a sort of exultant look in
his poor face.

“Thank you,” said Meg again. “Thank you, Ben.”

She could not help watching him as his mother
prepared the rather wretched mattress for Robin.
Once he caught the look of her big grey eyes, as it
rested upon him with questioning sympathy, and he
flushed up, so that even by the light of the little
smoky lamp she saw it. When the woman had
finished, she and the boy went away and left them,