"Hi, Mother Beasley!" shouted Inez, to the woman in the kitchen. "Two of
them eggs sunny-side up, flop the other."
Nan burst out laughing again at this. Bess was too funny for
anything--to look at!
There were other girls in the long room, but none near where Nan and Bess
and their strange little friend sat. Plainly the strangers were working
girls, somewhat older than the chums, and as they finished their late
dinners, one by one, they went out. Some wore cheap finery, but most of
them showed the shabby hall-mark of poverty in their garments.
By and by the steaming food appeared. Inez had been helping herself
liberally to bread and butter and the first thing Mother Beasley did was
to remove the latter out of the flower-seller's reach.
"It's gone up two cents a pound," she said plaintively. "But if it was a
dollar a pound some o' you girls would never have no pity on neither the
bread nor the butter."
The stew really smelled good. Even Bess tried it with less doubt. Inez
ate as though she had fasted for a week and never expected to eat again.
"Will you have coffee, dearies?" asked Mother Beasley.
"Three cents apiece extry," said Inez, hoarsely.
"Yes, please," Nan said. "And if there is pie, we will have pie."
"Oh, you pie!" croaked Inez, aghast at such recklessness.
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