llustrate her meaning.

"Goodness!" gasped Grace. "Does she think we are crazy because we want to
do her a kindness?"

"She's not used to being treated with much consideration, I am afraid,"
Nan observed, in a low voice.

"You ridiculous child!" came from Bess. "Don't you know that we were both
interested in you that first day? We told you we would see you again."

"Aw, that don't mean nothin'," sniffed Inez. "I didn't expect nothin'
would come of it. If youse folks from Washington Park ain't crazy, what
is the matter wit' youse? I ain't nothin' ter you."

"Why, goodness me!" cried Grace again. "Do you think everybody who is
kind must be out of his head? Who ever heard the like?"

"Folks ain't generally crazy to do me no favors," said Inez, with one of
her sharp glances. "But if you girls want ter give me somethin' for
nothin,' you've lost some of yer buttons, that's sure!"

Nan and her two companions had to laugh at this, but the laughter was
close to tears, after all. It was really pathetic that this waif of
the streets should suspect the sanity of anybody who desired to do her
a kindness.

CHAPTER XXVII

JENNIE ALBERT--AND SOMEBODY ELSE

"Well! what do you know about that?" was Walter's comment, when
he came back to the girls and found them surrounding the hungry
looking little street waif, of whom he had already heard so much
from Nan and Bess.

"We go out to shoot partridges and bring down a crow," he added.
"Goodness! what a hungry looking kid. There's a bakeshop over the way.
Bring her in and see if we can't cure this child of old Father Famine."

Inez looked at Walter askance at first. But when she understood that he
was going to stand treat to coffee and cakes, she grew friendlier.

"Yep, I'm hungry," she admitted. "Ain't I _always_ hungry? M-m--!" as the
shop door opened and she sniffed the odors of coffee and food.

"Do, _do_ hurry and feed the poor little thing," urged Grace, almost in
tears. "Oh! I'm sorry I came with you girls. Hungry! Only think of being
_hungry_, Walter!"

Inez looked at Grace as though she thought she was losing her mind.

"Aw, say," said she, "don't let it worry youse. I'm uster being empty,
_I_ am. And 'specially since me and me aunt had our fallin' out."

"Oh! we know about that, Inez," cried Bess. "We went there to look for
you."

"To me aunt's?" asked Inez, in some excitement.

"Yes," Nan replied.

"Is she a-lookin' for me?" demanded the child with