Marion Marlowe's Christmas Eve, or, The Treachery of a Factory Inspector — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

D2 En MY QUEEN. . 5 i. to be armed with a Government certificate first I may be able to show you where you + and to be able to enforce the laws when they _ fy ’ * - am , ent’s face, but Miss French only glanced at are broken.” A curious smile crossed the superintend- him and answered, sweetly: “Tt is very satisfactory, of course, Miss Marlowe.. Still, the work is unpleasant, and very dangerous. A woman takes her life in her hands when she goes into some places.” The young girl shivered a little, but she was not dismayed. “T shall make my first visit to-morrow, if al you will allow me?” she said, looking pleas- —_antly at Miss French. . “y start at nine o’clock in the morning,” 5 “Will you not find it irk- seme to be out so early?” a. | was the answer. “TJ will meet you here or wherever you say =. at that hour or earlier,’ was Marion’s prompt answer. Ue “Come here then, please,’ said Miss : Frengh, politely. A few moments later the interview ended, heh payers and another thrilling episode in this brave girl’s life was about to take place. ~ . ; J CHAPTER III. A DAY IN THE HARNESS. The next morning Marion was out even earlier than usual, and hastened to Mr. Lan- " dale’s office, where she was - pleasantly greeted. “Here is a list of the places that I would like you to visit to-day,” said Mr. Landale, as he handed Miss French a scrap of paper. “T shall be so glad of your company and experience,” said Marion to the woman. * “T am sure that it will help mea great deal, and ‘ 1 am anxious to learn all I can of your peo- pies - “Come back about noon and let me know how you get along,” said Mr. Landale. “Per: haps if [ hear from you rather frequently at can work to best advantage.” “Seems to be anxious to have you around, doesn’t he 2” said Miss French, as soon as the door closed behind them. ‘“Landale doesn't usually take to the girls like that! He must be ‘Stuck on you,’ to use a common expres- sion.” Marion opened her beautiful eyes wide in astonishment at her companion’s remark, but immediately determined to pay as little at- tention to it as possible. “He knows that I have never done any- thing of this sort, and no doubt is afraid of my making mistakes,” she said, simply. ‘As the two young women walked on down the street, Marion was distressed by the mis- erable aspect of this part of the city. It seemed to be the very centre of toil and poverty. The streets were full of men, wom- en and children, all of them poorly clad, and many actually shivering in tatters. Women in slatternly gowns stood gossip- ing in the dingy doorways of tenement hordes of ill-clad children romped in the dirt of the gutters. houses, while From the windows of nearly every house came the whirring, clicketty-click of sewing machines, while men and boys trundled push- carts through the streets laden with partly- finished garments. Cramped little pawnshops displayed their unclaimed pledges behind dirty windows, and gave mute evidence of the fact that the resi- dents of this quarter had been forced to aban- don even the small possessions they had owned. On it all shone the sun, with its bright glare, as if it would search out all the misery of the spot and reveal it without pity. “We'll go in here,” said the inspector, sud- denly, as she turned into a doorway and be- gan to climb the rickety stairs of a gloomy tenement. At the head of the first flight she COMIICcooOoks. CO