But old Sal's a rum un for such a child to pay a morning visit to.
She's worse when she's sober than when she's half drunk. I've seen
her when she'd have torn him in pieces."

Happily then for Diamond, old Sal had gone out to get some gin.
When he came to her door at the bottom of the area-stair and knocked,
he received no answer. He laid his ear to the door, and thought he heard
a moaning within. So he tried the door, and found it was not locked!
It was a dreary place indeed,--and very dark, for the window was below
the level of the street, and covered with mud, while over the grating
which kept people from falling into the area, stood a chest of drawers,
placed there by a dealer in second-hand furniture, which shut out
almost all the light. And the smell in the place was dreadful.
Diamond stood still for a while, for he could see next to nothing,
but he heard the moaning plainly enough now, When he got used
to the darkness, he discovered his friend lying with closed eyes
and a white suffering face on a heap of little better than rags in
a corner of the den. He went up to her and spoke; but she made him
no answer. Indeed, she was not in the least aware of his presence,
and Diamond saw that he could do nothing for her without help.
So taking a lump of barley-sugar from his pocket, which he had bought
for her as he came along, and laying it beside her, he left the place,
having already made up his mind to go and see the tall gentleman,
Mr. Raymond, and ask him to do something for Sal's Nanny, as the girl
was called.

By the time he got up the area-steps, three or four women who had
seen him go down were standing together at the top waiting for him.
They wanted his clothes for their children; but they did not follow
him down lest Sal should find them there. The moment he appeared,