Jonah was crouching motionless on the end of the sofa,his head buried among the cushions,like a stricken animal.Puzzled,but reassured,she closed the door gently and went downstairs.
Jonah never saw Clara again.He spent a week in the depths,groping blindly,hating life for its deceptions.Then,one day,his passion of hatred and loathing for Clara left him suddenly,as a garrison surrenders without a blow.He took a cab to her house,and knocked at the door.Acurtain moved,but the door remained unopened.A month later he learned that she had married her old love,the clerk in the Lands Department,transferred by request to Wagga,beyond the reach of Dad and his reputation.The following year Jonah married Miss Giltinan,chiefly on account of Ray,who was growing unmanageable;and on Monday morning it was one of the sights of Regent Street to see the second Mrs Jones step into her sulky to drive round and inspect the suburban branches of the "Silver Shoe"which Jonah had opened under her direction.
Chook and Pinkey did not need to stare at sixpence before spending it,but their fortune was long in the making.Meanwhile Chook consoled himself with the presence of a sturdy son,the image of Pinkey,with a mop of curls the colour of a new penny.
The End