ODOUR OF CHRYSANTHEMUMS
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of trouble, he has ! I hope the Lord'll spare him
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to mend his ways. I hope so, I hope so. You've
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had a sight o' trouble with him, Elizabeth, you have
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indeed. But he was a jolly enough lad wi' me,
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he was, I can assure you. I don't know how it
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is. . . ." 7
The old woman continued to muse aloud, a
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monotonous irritating sound, while Elizabeth
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thought concentratedly, startled once, when she
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heard the winding-engine chuff quickly, and the
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brakes skirr with a shriek. Then she heard the
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engine more slowly, and the brakes made no sound.
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The old woman did not notice. Elizabeth waited
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in suspense. The mother-in-law talked, with lapses
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into silence.16
" But he wasn't your son, Lizzie, an' it makes a
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difference. Whatever he was, I remember him
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when he was little, an' I learned to understand him
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and to make allowances. You've got to make
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allowances for them -- "21
It was half-past ten, and the old woman was
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saying : " But it's trouble from beginning to end ;
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you're never too old for trouble, never too old for
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that ---- " when the gate banged back, and there
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were heavy feet on the steps. 26
" I'll go, Lizzie, let me go," cried the old woman,
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rising. But Elizabeth was at the door. It was a
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man in pit-clothes. 29
" They're bringin' 'im, Missis," he said. Eliza-
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beth's heart halted a moment. Then it surged on
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again, almost suffocating her. 32
" Is he -- is it bad ? " she asked. 33
The man turned away, looking at the darkness:
