ry much.
No, Anna could not give up Mrs. Lehntman, and soon she was busier than
before making Julia do things right for little Johnny.
And now new schemes were working strong in Mrs. Lehntman's head, and
Anna must listen to her plans and help her make them work.
Mrs. Lehntman always loved best in her work to deliver young girls who
were in trouble. She would keep these in her house until they could go
to their homes or to their work, and slowly pay her back the money for
their care.
Anna had always helped her friend to do this thing, for like all the
good women of the decent poor, she felt it hard that girls should
not be helped, not girls that were really bad of course, these she
condemned and hated in her heart and with her tongue, but honest,
decent, good, hard working, foolish girls who were in trouble.
For such as these Anna always liked to give her money and her
strength.
Now Mrs. Lehntman thought that it would pay to take a big house for
herself to take in girls and to do everything in a big way.
Anna did not like this plan.
Anna was never daring in her ways. Save and you will have the money
you have saved, was all that she could know.
Not that the good Anna had it so.
She saved and saved and always saved, and then here and there, to this
friend and to that, to one in her trouble and to the other in her joy,
in sickness, death, and weddings, or to make young people happy, it
always went, the hard earned money she had saved.
Anna could not clearly see how Mrs. Lehntman could make a big house
pay. In the small house where she had these girls, it did not pay, and
in a big house there was so much more that she would spend.
Such things were hard for the good Anna to very clearly see. One day
she came into the Lehntman house. "Anna," Mrs. Lehntman said, "you
know that nice big house on the next corner that we saw to rent. I
took it for a year just yesterday. I paid a little down you know so I
could have it sure all right and now you fix it up just like you want.
I let you do just what you like with it."
Anna knew that it was now too late. However, "But Mrs. Lehntman you
said you would not take another house, you said so just last week. Oh,
Mrs. Lehntman I didn't think that you would do this so!"
Anna knew so well it was too late.
"I know, Anna, but it was such a good house, just right you know and
someone else was there to see, and you know you said it suited very
well, and if I didn't
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