That was what stuck in her throat.
Nothing to show for it. She looked round the dismantled walls, and
descended the vacant staircase. She would never serve another pint of beer
in that bar. What a strong, big fellow he was when she first went to live
with him! He was sadly changed. Would she ever see him strong and well
again? She remembered he had told her that he was worth nearly L3000. She
hadn't brought him luck. He wasn't worth anything like that to-day.
"How much have we in the bank, dear?"
"A bit over six hundred pounds. I was reckoning of it up yesterday. But
what do you want to know for? To remind me that I've been losing. Well, I
have been losing. I hope you're satisfied."
"I wasn't thinking of such a thing."
"Yes, you was, there's no use saying you wasn't. It ain't my fault if the
'orses don't win; I do the best I can."
She did not answer him. Then he said, "It's my 'ealth that makes me
irritable, dear; you aren't angry, are you?"
"No, dear, I know you don't mean it, and I don't pay no attention to it."
She spoke so gently that he looked at her surprised, for he remembered her
quick temper, and he said, "You're the best wife a man ever had."
"No, I'm not, Bill, but I tries to do my best."
The spring was the harshest ever known, and his cough grew worse and the
blood-spitting returned.
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