of
her, I found it was raining and blowing to beat the cars, and I
went back to hunt her up, I being the only person that knew she was
broke. There she was, moping around in the vestibule under one of
those awful pancake hats English women wear. I took out six
cents--it costs that to ride in the omnibuses here--and I marched
up to her. 'Miss Midland,' I said, 'excuse me again, but the
weather is something terrible. You can't refuse to let me loan you
enough to get home in a 'bus, for you would certainly catch your
death of cold, not to speak of spoiling your clothes, if you tried
to walk in this storm.'

"She looked at me queerly again, drew in her chin, and said very
fierce, 'No, certainly not! Some one always comes to fetch me
away.'

"Of course I didn't believe a word of _that_! It was just a bluff
to keep from seeming to need anything. So I smiled at her and said,
'That's all right, but suppose something happens this evening so he
doesn't get here. I guess you'd better take the six sous--they
won't hurt you any.' And I took hold of her hand, put the coppers
in it, shut her fingers, took off my hat, and skipped out before
she could get her breath. There are a _few_ times when women are so
contrary you can't do the right thing by them without bossing them
around a little.

"Well, I thought sure if she'd been mad at noon she'd just be
hopping mad over that last, but the next morning she came up to me
in the vestibule and smiled at me, the funniest little wavery
smile, as though she were trying on a brand-new expression. It made
her look almost pretty. 'Good morning, Mr. Harrison,' she said in
that soft, singsong tone English women have, 'here is your loan
back again. I hope I have the sum you paid for my lunch
correct--and thank you very much.'

"I hated to take her little money, for her clothes are awfully
plain and don't look as though she had any too much cash, but of
course I did, and even told her that I'd given the waiter a
three-cent tip she'd forgotten to figure in. When you _can_, I
think it's only the square thing to treat women like human beings
with sense, and I knew how I'd feel about being sure I'd returned
all of a loan from a stranger. 'Oh, thank you for telling me,' she
said, and took three more coppers out of her little purse; and by
gracious