It was expressed, of a truth, in a larger phrase than ever yet, for her eyes now spoke to him with a kind of supplication.

"Be quiet, be quiet!" they pleaded; and they saw his own reply: "I'll do whatever you say; I won't even look at you--see, see!" They kept conveying thus, with the friendliest liberality, that they wouldn't look, quite positively wouldn't.

What she was to see was that he hovered at the other end of the counter, Mr.Buckton's end, and surrendered himself again to that frustration.

It quickly proved so great indeed that what she was to see further was how he turned away before he was attended to, and hung off, waiting, smoking, looking about the shop; how he went over to Mr.Cocker's own counter and appeared to price things, gave in fact presently two or three orders and put down money, stood there a long time with his back to her, considerately abstaining from any glance round to see if she were free.

It at last came to pass in this way that he had remained in the shop longer than she had ever yet known to do, and that, nevertheless, when he did turn about she could see him time himself--she was freshly taken up--and cross straight to her postal subordinate, whom some one else had released.