My dears, I can hold out no longer; I'm at the end of my means.

If I could have kept this from you, Heaven knows I would have done, but it is better to tell you all plainly." Mrs.Denyer's brows were knitted; her lips were compressed in angry obstinacy; she would not look up from the floor.

The girls glanced at her, then at one another.

Barbara tried to put on a sceptical expression, but failed; Madeline was sunk in trouble; Zillah showed signs of tearfulness.
"I can only hope," Mr.Denyer continued, "that you don't owe very much here.

I thought, after my last letter"-- he seemed more abashed than ever--"you might have looked round for something a little--" He glanced at the ornaments of the room, but at the same time chanced to catch his wife's eye, and did not finish the sentence.