into his
life, and hear her speak of trust and friendship. Lord! it 's like a
breath of pure air amid the foulness of the pit. I believe in _you_, and
I have n't believed in anybody for a long while. Perhaps you didn't
wholly mean all you said to me; perhaps you 'll forget about it when your
luck changes, but it 's a thing that is going to stay with me; you can
bet on that! I guess it was what I 've been hungry for; the loss of it
had taken the very heart out of me," I paused, fearful I might be going
too far, yet given fresh courage by the expression of her face. "You see
you belong to my class, little girl, and--and you are the first of them
to speak a kind word to me in five years. It's--it's a bit tough to be
cut dead by your own class."

It was her hand, white and slender, which reached shyly across the table,
and touched mine, but her eyes alone made answer.

"That is all right," I continued, my voice shaking. "I understand how
you feel. Anyhow you 've made a new man out of me; maybe the stuff is
n't much, but there is a soul in it somewhere, and you 've given that
soul something to get a grip on. That was all I needed, just to get my
teeth set. But what about you? This is no fit place for your kind--you
better go home to your mother."

She shook her head with decision.

"Why not? is she hard?"

"Yes, she would be very hard with me."

"Do you mean you would rather risk it here with--with me, than go back,
and face her?"

"Yes, even that," she replied soberly. "I have courage to fight it out
here, but not there. I know what it will mean if I go back--reproaches,
gossip, ostracism--all the petty meannesses of a small town. I loathe
the very thought. I am strong again, and I will not go. It is between
God and me, this decision; between God and me." She drooped her head,
hiding her face upon her arms, her shoulders trembling. "You--you may
despise me; you may think me the lowest of the low, but I--I am going to
stay here."

I sat in silence, amazed, puzzled, gazing across at her, my face sober,
my hands clinched.

"You actually mean you dare risk yourself here--with me?"

"With your help; with you as a friend to talk to--yes."

I drew in my breath sharply, my forehead beaded with perspiration.

"But stop and think what I am," I urged recklessly. "A mere hobo."

She raised her face, the flushed cheeks wet, the brown eyes glowing
indignantly.

"No," she said earnestly. "You are not