hts.

He was a cur, and she--hang it! There was something appealing about her
in spite of her looks. Perhaps it was the sturdy self-reliance, which in
itself betrayed her utter innocence and ignorance of the world, that
made a fellow want to protect her.

In his own circle James Botts had never been known as a _Sir
Galahad_, but he had been away from his own circle for exactly
nineteen eventful days now, and in that space of time he had learned
much. His heart went out in sympathy as he turned once more to her.

But at the moment Lou Lacey seemed in no momentary need of sympathetic
understanding. She was pursuing a hapless frog with well-directed shots
of small pebbles, and there was an impish grin upon her face.

"How old are you?" he asked suddenly.

Lou shrugged.

"I don't know. About seventeen or eighteen, I reckon; at least, they
told me six years ago that I was twelve, an' I've kept track ever since.
When I was sixteen, though, and it was time for me to be got a place
somewhere, the matron put me back a couple of years; we were gettin'
more babies from the poor-farm than usual, an' I was kinder handy with
them. She had to let me go now because one of the visitin' deaconesses
let out that she'd seen me there sixteen years ago herself, an' I was
toddlin' round then. Oh, I missed him!"

The frog, with a triumphant _plop_, had disappeared beneath a flat,
submerged stone, and Lou turned to note her companion's pain-drawn face.

"I'm goin' to fix that bandage on your head again," she declared as she
sprang to her feet. "Is your back hurtin' you very much?"

"Not very." He forced a smile, but his face was grave, for, despite his
suffering, the problem which this accidental meeting had forced upon him
filled his thoughts. What was he to do with this girl? In spite of the
statement that she had "kept track" of her last few years he could not
credit the fact that she was approximately eighteen; fourteen would be
nearer the guess he would have made, and it was unthinkable that a child
like that should wander about the country alone.

He could not bear the thought of betraying her innocent confidences by
handing her over to the nearest authorities; it would mean her being
held as a vagrant and possibly sent to the county poor-farm. Perhaps the
people with whom she had been placed were not so bad, after all; if he
took her back and reasoned with them, insisted upon their keeping to
their bargain, and giving her ligh