e followed her was plain from his whole
plan of action. The ring of his footsteps told her that he was walking
faster than she, though in no precise hurry to overtake her. Rather,
he seemed to be keeping her in sight, and watching for some
opportunity.

It was exactly what men did when they robbed and murdered unprotected
women. She had read of scores of such cases, and had often imagined
herself as being stalked by this kind of ghoul. Now the thing which
she had greatly feared having come upon her she was nearly hysterical.
If she ran he would run after her. If she only walked on he would
overtake her. Before she could reach the docks on one side or Broadway
on the other, where she might find possible defenders, he could easily
have strangled her and rifled her fifty cents.

It was still unreasoning fear, but fear in which there was another
kind of prompting, which made her wheel suddenly and walk back towards
him. She noticed that as she did so, he stopped, wavered, but came on
again.

Before the obscurity allowed of her seeing what type of man he was she
cried out, with a half sob:

"Oh, mister, I'm so afraid! I wish you'd help me."

"Sure!" The tone had the cheery fraternal ring of commonplace
sincerity. "That's what I turned round for. I says, that girl's lost,
I says. There's places down here that's dangerous, and she don't know
where she is."

Hysterical fear became hysterical relief. "And you're not going to
murder me?"

"Gee! Me? What'd I murder you for? I'm a plumber."

His tone making it seem impossible for a plumber to murder anyone she
panted now from a sense of reassurance and security. She could see too
that he was a decent looking young fellow in overalls, off on an
early job.

"Where you goin' anyhow?" he asked, in kindly interest. "The minute I
see you on the other side of the street, I says Gosh, I says! That
girl's got to be watched, I says. She don't know that these streets
down by the docks is dangerous."

She explained that she was on her way to Red Point, Long Island, and
that having only fifty cents she was sparing of her money.

"Gee! I wouldn't be so economical if it was me. That ain't the only
fifty cents in the world. Look-a-here! I've got a dollar. You must
take that----"

"Oh, I couldn't."

"Shucks! What's a dollar? You can pay me back some time. I'll give you
my address. It's all right. I'm married. Three kids. And say, if you
send me back the dollar, which you needn't