"'I thought you gave all that to me,' I said.

"Mother Roberts, you ought to have heard her laugh. It makes me shudder
when I think of it, it was so cruel and fiendish! Presently she added:

"'You can't leave till you've paid your debts. I'll have you arrested
if you do.'

"'How much do I owe you?' I asked.

"'Pretty near six hundred dollars,' she said.

"I nearly fainted with fright, but what was I to do? _I was afraid to
die, or else I'd have ended it then and there...._

"That night I told a friend of mine, a railroad employee, and he said
for me to keep a 'stiff upper lip,' and he'd get me out of there next
trip; so I kept my own counsel, and Madam concluded I'd decided to stay
where I was and make the best of it. She didn't know I was counting the
hours for three days, until my friend got back.

"When he came, he advised me to play drunk, and to go out with him to
dinner. He said I need never go back; he'd take me with him on his
train when it went out that night.

"'What about my debt?' I asked him.

"'Debt nothing!" he said. 'She can't have you arrested. She can't
collect one cent of a debt like _that_. Don't take any clothes, for
fear she'll suspect.'