A day or two later poor Eudora Skeff, who for twenty years had been the
custodian of the Hatchard library, died suddenly of pneumonia; and the
day after the funeral Charity went to see Miss Hatchard, and asked to be
appointed librarian. The request seemed to surprise Miss Hatchard: she
evidently questioned the new candidate's qualifications.

"Why, I don't know, my dear. Aren't you rather too young?" she
hesitated.

"I want to earn some money," Charity merely answered.

"Doesn't Mr. Royall give you all you require? No one is rich in North
Dormer."

"I want to earn money enough to get away."

"To get away?" Miss Hatchard's puzzled wrinkles deepened, and there was
a distressful pause. "You want to leave Mr. Royall?"

"Yes: or I want another woman in the house with me," said Charity
resolutely.

Miss Hatchard clasped her nervous hands about the arms of her chair. Her
eyes invoked the faded countenances on the wall, and after a faint cough
of indecision she brought out: "The... the housework's too hard for you,
I suppose?"

Charity's heart grew cold. She understood that Miss Hatchard had no
help to give her and that she would have to fight her way out of her
difficulty alone. A deeper sense of isolation overcame her; she felt