When Joey the pieman arrived, some were sitting on the veranda, as the room was crowded.

Mrs Yabsley anxiously reckoned the number of guests; she had reckoned on twelve, and there were twenty.

She beckoned to Jonah, and they whispered together for a minute.

He counted some money into her hand, and cried, "Let 'er go; it's only once in a lifetime." Then Mrs Yabsley, as hostess, went to each in turn, asking what they preferred.

The choice was limited to green peas, hot pies, and saveloys, and as each chose, she ticked it off on a piece of paper in hieroglyphics known only to herself, as she was used to number the shirts and collars.