"It was that!" agreed Joe, and there was about them. He was such a big chap and a frown on his face. hated anything tight.
When he came the next evening Susie She resisted the temptation to look in the saw that he had been to the barber's. When gay windows of Kennard's the drapers, lest he was asleep she rose and trimmed the She should be tempted to shelve her problem edges of his trousers, and with respectable and make a hole in her unexpected wealth. shoes to wear he did not look such a wreck, There was only one thing for it. She But how was she to persuade him to buy must tell Joe it was her Christmas present new suit, or even wear his Sunday suit to him, and persuade him to come with her to the shop. Susie's tact could not rise and be measured. to that. She had imagined the conversation They were having tea that evening, and which had led to the needed haircut, but Susie was just about to approach the subject. if she reported a dozen imaginary conver-tactfully when a loud knock came at the sations, and used all the eloquence she door. possessed, she knew she would not persuade An errand boy stood there.
Joe to spend three or four pounds on a "Name of Foyle?" he said, and thrust a good suit, the sort of suit he had worn as large parcel into her hands. the smart young chap who had courted her.
Susie stared at it blankly. It was from She took down the ugly Jubilee teapot Corbin's the tailors, and it was obviously a which had belonged to her grandmother and suit of clothes. She darted for the kitchen. counted the money in it. There were two ten shilling notes now, and nearly a Joe!" she cried breathlessly, "there's a parcel come for you from the tailors. Iam pound's worth of silver. Suppose she handet it over to Joe as her contribution towards glad you've ordered a respectable suit at last!" ihe budget reserve, as he called it, would "It must be a mistake, lass. I've not that induce him to buy the suit he so badly needed?
The teapot stood on the dresser, the money piled neatly beside it, when the furniture ordered a new suit. Likely i'd be spending. all that money just now!"
There was quite a horrified note in his dealer arrived with a chair he had been Susie showed him the address on the repairing, Susie hastily drawer, but the in the old teapot slipped the money into a dealer scerne? interested parcel, and feverishly unpacked it.
Aye, but it's a nice suit is that," said Joe, but I didn't order it, and I'm not going to ay for "That's a quaint old piece, Mrs. Foyle, he said, picking it up and examining it Suppose they made hundreds of them fifty years ago, but no, one thought they would Ver become valuable, so they were treated carelessly and got broken. If you ever thought of selling this I could get you a hoot price for it" do you call a good pr shed There's no bill" but there's this card. replied Susie calmly, Joe took the card Dear Sir—We have pleasure in sending you the suit made for you on the instructions of someone who wishes to rema anonymous, but who hopes you will accept the suit as a Christmas present and some return for a deep debt of gratitude owed to Susie, completely taken aback, "Well, I could give you three pounds for d then make a fair profit by selling it man who wants Jubil e collection. to complete his Susie didn't think twice, when the di left the house he carried away the Jubilee teapot, and Susie had added three pounds to her reserve, now hidden in a cigarette tin in the dresser drawer A new suit for Joe would be ever so much better than that ugly old teapot.
But now came the problem of how she was to make Joe buy the much-needed suit She knew he would not take the ropak 1o spend on himself, he was that obstinate, was Joe, and so pleased with his regular saving that he did not realize the big difference in his appearance, and how he was being pushed on one side at the shop. There would be a rainy day all right, perhaps a deluge before Christmas, if something wasn't done about Joe.
That afternoon she went down into the town, it was a cold but dry afternoon, the shop windows bright, and Christmas she pers thronged the pavements. She looked in the windows of tailor's shops, and she had the money to buy Joe a fine suit, but you could not buy a suit like a pair of shoes, man had to be measured and a suit tried on.
Joe stared blankly at the card. He said it was a rum do, and he couldn't think of anyone who had cause to be all that graleful as to send him a fine suit like that.
But you'll wear it, Joe?" said Susie eagerly "Oh aye, I'll wear it, nowt else to do but wear it, and it's a nice bit of stuff is that.
Ta like to know who sent it.
Susie was completely mystified as she laid the suit, and Joe was lost in meditation.
"I've got it, Sue girl!" he cried suddenly. "It must be young Mr. Stanton who sent ihat suit. I used to have my clothes made at Corbin's, and so did he."
Mr. Stanton of Stanton's Stores gasped Susi "Well he's the one person who might think he owed me a deep debt of gratitude. You see, as lads Bob Stanton and I were pretty pally, that was before his father did so well and launched out in a big way, and one evening he and 1 and another chap were walking along the bank of the canal when Bob slipped and fell into the canal. He was no swimmer, so I hopped in and hauled him out."
If that wasn't just like Joe!, thought Susie, he'd saved a man's life, but this was the first shed ever heard of it, and he described it as though he'd just picked up someone in the street, She couldn't spend all that money without being sure the suit was going to fit, and though she had taken the measurements "Well I feel ashamed of young Stanton, to think that he's rolling in money now, but never takes any notice of the man who suit, she was not too sure saved his life!"
"There's nowt the Stanton but his brass," said Joe, came into the business he wanted to do something for me, just as he'd been asking me to get about with him before, but I couldn't run to his ways of life, and 1 wasn't going to be beholden to him."
"That's daft!" said Susie. "He's beholden to you."
Joe scratched his head.
"Happen there's something in that, anyway I'll keep the suit he's sent me. I expect. he's seen me about and reckons I'm hard up. Reckon old Harrison thinks that too, he's been a bit funny with me of late, and this morning he said he was sorry to see that I wasn't as smartly dressed as used to be. Like his nerve that was!"
Susie looked scared I hope you explained how it was, Joe." "It wasn't his business to bother about my Budget, and I've got my independence, Sue lass! 1 told him if he wanted his assistant to dress like Bond Street tailors' dummies he'd have to pay Bond Street wages, Eh, but that made him blink!"
Susie felt a little chill at her heart, The suit had come too late! Joe must have finished himself with Harrison now!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.