Burton found himself in the street.
Instinctively he felt that her hasty dismissal was intended to conceal from him the torrent of tears which were imminent.

A little dazed, he still groped his way to the spot where Ellen had thrown the beans.

A man was there with a fruit barrow, busy, apparently, rearranging his stock.

Something about his appearance struck Burton with a chill premonition.

He came to a standstill and looked at him.
"Did you wish to buy any fruit, sir ?" the man asked, in a tone unusually subdued for one of his class.
Burton shook his head.
"I was just wondering what you were doing," he remarked.
The man hesitated.
"To tell you the truth, guvnor," he confessed, "I was mixing up my apples and bananas a bit.