THEY ARRIVE 25

this office, doin' 'er typewriting? 'Ow long? Two
munce. All right—three munce. An' 'ow long 'ave I
been cleaning for Twiggs and Dersinghams, coming 'ere
ev'ry morning, week in an' week out, to clean this office?
Yer don't know. No, yer don't know, and yer Miss
Matfield doesn't know. Well, 111 tell yer. I've been
cleaning for Twiggs and Dersinghams for seven years,
I 'ave. It wasn't this Mr. Dersingham that started me,
it was 'is uncle, old Mr. Dersingham, 'im oo's dead now
—an' a nice old gentleman 'e was too, nicer than this
one an' a better 'ead on 'im to my way of thinking—and
when this Mr. Dersingham took on, 'e sent for me and
said, 'You keep on cleaning, Mrs. Cross, and 111 pay
yer whatever my uncle did,' that's what 'e said to me in
that very room there, and I said, 'Much obliged, sir, and
the very best attention as always,' and 'e said, Tm sure
it will, Mrs. Cross/ Typewriters! Coming and going
so fast I can't be bothered learning their names. If
there's been one 'ere since I started, there's been eight
or ten or a dozen. Miss Matfield! Now when she comes
in, just give 'er a message from me/' she cried, thor-
oughly reckless by this time. "Just say to 'er: 'Mrs.
Cross 'as seen the note left and only asks oo is cleaning
this office, Miss Matfield or 'er, and if 'er, then them
oo's been doing it for seven years, ^Teek in and week
out, knows their own business better than them oo's
only been typewriting 'ere for three munce, and so Mrs,
Crossll thank her to keep 'er notes to 'erself in future
till they're asked for/ Just you tell 'er that, boy. And •
I'll say good morning."

With that, Mrs. Cross unfastened her apron and
gathered up her things with great dignity, gave Stanley
a final shake of the head, and waddled out, closing the