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was a salesgirl in a department store and did not get home until six o'clock or after. Jane busied herself about the empty house, straightening things up and finally sitting down and accomplishing a bit of sewing. Around six o'clock, she packed a small handbag with her night things. She telephoned Daisy and found her in. Of course, Daisy said, she would be delighted to have Jane with her for the night. She added an invitation to dinner. But Jane declined this, declaring over the phone that the Dillon ice-box contained a suitable repast for herself, edibles that would spoil overnight if they weren't consumed at once. The real reason for politely declining the invitation was that Jane knew the Ryans had too many mouths to feed, as it was, and too little money with which to buy the wherewithal to feed them.

Jane set herself out a modest fare on the kitchen table, brewed a pot of tea and sat down to eat alone. Pop generally had supper with her and a pang of lonesomeness clutched her heart at the sight of the empty chair on the other side of the table. Speedy, too, often kept them company at this evening meal. She wondered where he was now and where he had been all day. Even King Tut was outdoors somewhere. However, of a natural buoyant temperament, she soon cheered up.

Having cleared away the dinner things, she went into the living room and sat down on the divan with her sewing, intending to give the Ryans a chance to finish their dinner before joining them. It was at this point that Steven Carter let himself into the