Tomorrow was Sunday and she felt as if she could not go to church without again seeing the little family committed, in a measure, to her humble charge. Finding Mrs. Baldwin busy in the shop, she nodded as she passed her and went up the stair. But she hesitated when she opened the door, and saw the father and the three boys standing together near the fire, like gentlemen on a hearth rug expecting visitors.

She glanced round in search of the mother. Some one was bending over the bed in the farther corner. The place was lighted with but a single candle, and a moment’s gaze made it plain that the back was that of a man—was it the doctor?

She entered and approached the father, who then first seeing who it was that had knocked and looked in, pulled off the cap he invariably wore, and came forward with a bashful yet eager courtesy.

“I hope your wife is not worse,” said Hester.

“No, miss, I hope not. She’s took a bit bad. We can’t always avoid it in our profession, miss.”

“I don’t understand you,” she answered, feeling a little uneasy.

“If you will do us the honour to take a seat, miss, we shall be only too happy to show you as much as you may please to look upon with favor.”

The man saw her hesitate, and resumed.

“You see, miss, this is how it was. Dr. Christopher—that’s the gentleman there, a lookin’ after mother—he’s been that kind to her an’ me an’ all on us in our trouble, an’ never a crown-piece to offer him—which I’m sure no lady in the land could ha’ been better attended to than she’ve been—twixt him an’ you, miss—so we thought as how we’d do our best for him, an’ try an’ see whether amongst us we couldn’t give him a pleasant evenin’ as it were, just to show as we was grateful. So we axed him to tea, an’ he come, like the gen’leman he be, an’ so we shoved the bed aside an’ was showin’ him a bit on our craft, just a trick or two, miss—me an’ the boys here—stan’ forward, Robert an’ the rest of you an’ make your bows to the distinguished company as honours you with their presence to cast an eye on you an’ see what you can show yourselves capable of.”

Mr. Franks had always hastened to disappear when Hester came, so she was astonished by his outpouring of information.

Here Mr. Christopher—Hester had heard his name before though she had never seen him—turned, and approached them.

“She’ll be all right in a minute or two, Franks,” he said.

“Evenin’ to you, miss,” came a soft voice from the bed. Hester walked over and greeted her.

Then flourishing a stage-bow, Franks immediately offered Hester a chair. She hesitated a moment, for she felt shy around Mr. Christopher. But as she had more fear of not behaving as she ought to the people she was visiting, she sat down, and became for the first time in her life a spectator of the feats of an acrobatic family.