three months. She was ill; ill of body, ill of mind, ill of heart. Her splendid, resilient courage had

uch from her scanty store of money. She held in her hand his last bill-unpaid; and though she had paid a score of his bills, yet her eyesight

s time had found harder and worse paid work in another factory. She came in with her ha

er return, after she had thrown her wrap across a chair back. "How m

uch. The doctor-you see, I can't

-skinned. What a

t to do. I'm scared. That's t

go to the lake-or to a man-or to men," said she, succinctly. "Look over

could

f he dyed his hair, or had his neck shaved round. Mostly they have false teeth-before they'll advertise. Probably he's a widow

er that sort of a thing!

l along. That's why I had to take it into my own hands

s-what do you

in your name! I've sent him a picture of you-I got

th, humiliation and offended digni

o do that, Annie! How d

of letters from him. He's got three hundred and twenty acres of land, eight cows, a horse and a mule. He has a house which is all

myself, hardly, let alone you. You don't belong where you've been-you wouldn't, even if you was well and fit, which you ain't. Mollie, Mollie, my dear, what is there ahead for you? We

for me-she's a bear, come to correspondence like that. Now, I'll have her get out a letter from you to him that will sort of b

lake, first." She was wring

going out there as a housekeeper, just to see how things looked-just so that you could look things over, couldn't you? You wouldn't marry any man in a

h anything as a housekeeper." Mary Warren

e out-not at all! You ain't taking any chances nor asking him to take any chances,-unless she falls in love with you for fair. Which I wouldn't wonder if he did. You're a sweet girl,

effort of will and in the suddenest and sharpest decision she had ever known in all

Warren's neck, as though they both had done nothing but agree about this after a dozen conversations. And then she wept, f

t, dabbing at her own eyes, "and I would