sight till she could decide whether it was safe to take a girl without a
character--yet who had just shown a bit of her character unaware.

Two blocks from the employment office the girl paused, to realize that she
was walking blindly, without any destination. She was trembling so with
terror that she was not sure whether she had the courage to enter another
office, and a long vista of undreamed-of fears arose in her imagination.

The little woman paused, too, eying the girl cautiously, then began in an
eager voice:

"I've been following you."

The girl started nervously, a cold chill of fear coming over her. Was this
a woman detective?

"I heard what that awful woman said to you, and I saw how you acted. You
must be a good girl, or you wouldn't have talked to her that way. I
suppose I'm doing a dangerous thing, but I can't help it. I believe you're
all right, and I'm going to try you, if you'll take general housework. I
need somebody right away, for I'm going to have a dinner party to-morrow
night, and my girl left me this morning."

The kind tone in the midst of her troubles brought tears to the girl's
eyes.

"Oh, thank you!" she said as she brushed the tears away. "I'm a stranger
here, and I have never before been among strangers this way. I'd like to
come and work for you, but I couldn't do general housework, I'm sure. I
never did it, and I wouldn't know how."