"You're down early, Rosa; it's a good habit." Mrs.Payne surveyed him with an intolerant humour.
"I'm not undertaking to cultivate a habit at my time of life," she responded, raising her voice until it sounded harsh and cracked; then she became a prey to a devouring suspicion.

"What is that under your coat ?" she demanded sternly.
Uncle Percival's flaccid mouth fell open with a frightened droop, and he took instantly the demeanour of a small offending schoolboy.
"It--it's only a little present for Angela," he replied.

"I thought it might interest her, but I hardly think you would care for it, Rosa." "What is it ?" persisted Mrs.Payne in her unyielding calmness.
The object moved beneath his coat, and, pulling it out with a timid yet triumphant gesture, he displayed before their astonished eyes a squirming white rabbit.
"I hoped it might interest Angela," he repeated, seeking in vain for sympathy in the three amazed faces.
The rabbit struggled in his grasp, and after holding it suspended a moment by the nape of its neck, he cuddled it again beneath his coat.

"A woman was selling them in the street," he explained in a suppressed voice.

"She had a box filled with them.