Not easily
could a less inviting place of refreshment have been constructed;
but no such thought occurred to its frequenters, who at this hour
were numerous. Squeezed together in a stifling atmosphere of gas and
alcohol, with nothing to look at but the row of great barrels whence
the wine was drawn, these merry folk quenched their midsummer thirst
and gave their wits a jog, and drank good fellowship with merciless
ill-usage of the Queen's English. Miss Waghorn talked freely of
Polly Sparkes, repeating all the angry things that Polly had said,
and persistingly wanting to know what the "bother" was all about.
"It's for her own good," said Gammon with significant brevity.
He did not choose to say more or to ask any questions which might
turn to Polly's disadvantage. For his own part he seldom gave a
thought to the girl, and was far from imagining that she cared
whether he kept on friendly terms with her or not. At his landlady's
suggestion he had joined in the domestic plot for sending Polly to
"Coventry"--a phrase, by the by, which would hardly have been
understood in Mrs.
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