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266 BLACK SHEEP.street but him and me. Iskulked into a lane,ancl watchedhim.Idon'tknow whyIwatchedhim,andIdon't know how long we wasthere — Ialittleway down the lane, and he a-saunterin' up anddown,and lookin' at the doors and the windows,butnever goin' nigh the house. It must ha' been verylate when the two gents came out, andIwas verytired;but the old woman — that's my aunt, sir —and me had had a row in the mornin', andIthought I'd like to giv' her a fright, and stay outall night, whichIhaven't often slep' in the streets,considerin'."Jim had ceased to wriggle about on his chair,to twist his cap between his hands, and to shufflehis feet upon the floor.He wasnearly as motionlessas the listeners,who heard him in breathlesssilence. By degrees Clare had drawn nearer toMr. Felton, and she was now standing, her handin his,her head in its former place upon his shoulder,behind Jim's chair. But the character of thegroup formed by the tyvo was no longer what ithad been; the girl w-as supporting the man now;the girl was silently nerving him to courage andresolution.