to keep a dance-house or a bank?"

"No; I agree with you. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know; I thought of trying a milliner. I know right smart about
hats; but I'd wear all the pretty ones and give all the ugly ones away,"
she said, with a poor little smile. "And it might interfere with Mrs.
Gaskins, and she is a widder. So I thought I'd go away. I thought of
being a nurse--I know a little about that. I used to be about the
hospital at my old home, and I've had some little experience since." She
was evidently seeking his advice.

"You saved my life," said Keith. "Dr. Balsam says you are a born nurse."

She put this by without comment, and Keith went on.

"Where was your home?"

"Grofton."

"Grofton? You mean in England? In the West Country?"

She nodded. "Yes. I was the girl the little lady gave the doll to. You
were there. Don't you remember? I ran away with it. I have it now--a
part of it. They broke it up; but I saved the body."

Keith's eyes opened wide.

"That Lois Huntington gave it to?"

"Yes. I heard you were going to be married?" she said suddenly.

"I! Married! No! No such good luck for me." His laugh had an unexpected
tone of bitterness in it. She gave him a searching glance in the dusk,
and presently began again haltingly.

"I want you to know I am never going back to that any more."

"I am glad to hear it."

"You were the first to set me to thinkin' about it."

"I!"

"Yes; I want to live straight, and I'm goin' to."

"I am sure you are, and I cannot tell you how glad I am," he said
cordially.

"Yes, thankee." She was looking down, picking shyly at the fringe on her
wrap. "And I want you to know 'twas you done it. I have had a hard
life--you don't know how hard--ever since I was a little bit of a
gal--till I run away from home. And then 'twas harder. And they all
treated me's if I was just a--a dog, and the worst kind of a dog. So I
lived like a dog. I learned how to bite, and then they treated me some
better, because they found I would bite if they fooled with me. And then
I learned what fools and cowards men were, and I used 'em. I used to
love to play 'em, and I done it. I used to amuse 'em for money and hold
'em off. But I knew sometime I'd die like a dog as I lived like one--and
then you came--." She paused and looked away out of the window, and
after a gulp went on again: "They preached at me for dancin'. But I
don't think there's any harm dancin'. And I love it better'