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Against this she plunged with wonderful violence for one so gentle and tender, and then hammered it with her knuckles in a way that would have done credit to a lightweight prize-fighter. The door was opened hastily by Liffie Lee, who, being a much lighter weight than her assailant, went down before her rush. "Lawk! Miss Ruth," she exclaimed, on recovering her feet, "w'at's a-'appened?"
"That's just the very thing I mean to do," replied the captain, bursting into a laugh so deep and thunderous that the small domestic, Liffie Lee, entered the room abruptly to ask if anything was wanted, but in reality to find out what all the fun was about.
Liffie said nothing, but if the widest extension of her lips, and the exposing of her bright little teeth from ear to ear, meant anything, it meant that her sympathies were entirely with Kate. The captain was helped to pudding in a soup plate, that being relatively a rather small dessert plate for him. He was about to plunge the dessert spoon into it, but stopped suddenly and gazed at it.
"I sees more than enough o' big sea-captings when I'm afloat. Besides, I've got more business on hand, so I'll bid 'ee good-day." Pulling his forelock he left the room. "The ladies has undertook some work for me, my dear," said Billy to Liffie Lee, as he stood at the door buttoning up his little coat, "so p'raps I may see you again."
The provincial boy was quite equal to the occasion, though his return "chaff" smacked much of salt water. Arrived at the poverty-stricken street in which the Misses Seaward dwelt, Billy mounted the narrow staircase and knocked at the door. It was opened by Liffie Lee, who had remained on that day to accomplish some extra work. "Is your missis at home, my dear?"
She even screwed up her nose in a stupendous effort, but all in vain. If there had been no need for caution, the thing would have been easy, but Jessie kept whispering, "Softly, Liffie, softly!" and Ruth echoed "Softly!" At last Liffie screwed herself up entirely, body and soul, in one supreme effort; she agonised with the key. It yielded, and the bolt flew back with a crack like a pistol-shot.
Just as the door was reached the two cats, becoming suddenly brave, filled the night-air with yells as of infants in agony. An irrepressible shriek burst from the sisters as they tripped over each other into the passage, and the faithful Liffie slammed the door in the face of the discomfited policeman.
That will raise some one to our aid." "I should think it would, ma'am. It would a'most raise the dead," said Liffie, who also prepared herself for the ordeal.
"Oh!" burst in four different keys not door-keys from the party under their breath however. "Open," whispered Jessie. Liffie obeyed, and when the half-opened door revealed intense darkness outside, a feeling of horror caused their very flesh to creep. "How I wish I hadn't stayed! I'll never do it again!" whispered poor Ruth in the tones of a child about to be punished.
"You may go now," said Kate at this point to Liffie Lee, who was still standing transfixed in open-mouthed amazement gazing at the visitor. With native obedience and humility the child left the room, though anxious to see and hear more. "You have a furnished room to let I believe, ladies," said the captain, coming at once to the point. Jessie and Kate glanced at each other.
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