there was a little silence, and then mr. green went over and sat down by the girl. "tell me," he said, "what is the matter?" she buried her face in her hands and shuddered. "tell me," he repeated again, in a tender voice. "trust me, won't you?"
and suddenly she looked up at him, the tears streaming from her eyes. "oh," she pleaded, "have mercy on me! i can't do it—i can't! you don't know how miserable i am."
robbie—one is moved intuitively to call him "robbie" again at such a time, even though his hair is now an iron-gray—robbie was gazing at the perfect face, and thinking that he had never seen anything so wonderful in his life before. "listen," he said very gently. "you have no reason to be afraid of me. tell me what is the matter, tell me how you come to be in such a place as this."
[74]the girl gazed at him with her frightened eyes; she choked back a sob. "i have only been here a few hours," she said. "and i cannot stay—oh, i cannot!"
"tell me about it," said he.
she sat kneading her hands together nervously. "i came from the country," she said. "it is the old story—it will not interest you. my father was dead, and my mother dead, and then i had no money, and had to work. and then i loved a young man—"
she made a sudden gesture of despair, and stopped. "go on," said the other, tenderly.
"it was only last week that i saw him last," she said, "and now i shall never see him again. he begged me to go and live with him—that was in the beginning. he was very rich, and so his parents would not let him marry me. but i loved him, so i did not care; i only wanted to be with him. that was a year ago; and then he went away and left me[75]—he said his parents had found it out. i heard he had gone to new york, and i followed him—spent all i owned to come. and of course i could not find him; and i could find nothing to do—i walked the streets all last night, and the night before. and then this was all that there was left—i was nearly dead."
the girl had flushed with excitement as she talked, and became more beautiful than ever. the other led her on; she told him all, for his was the first sympathetic voice she had heard. and robbie talked to her as the robbie of old had talked to women, gently, beautifully, with infinite tact, and sympathy, and grace. he was a handsome man and a brilliant man, and the girl forgot first her terror, and then her despair, and then her sorrow. no one disturbed them; they talked for an hour, for two hours, and with more and more understanding. robbie's heart was beating faster and faster. she was not only a beautiful girl, she was a beautiful soul—a pearl in the mud, delicate and precious.[76] and so he went on and on, pouring out his sympathy, and drawing out her whole heart. the time sped on yet faster, midnight came, and by that time robbie had ventured to take her hand in his, and to sit down beside her on the sofa. he was trembling like a boy again, was robbie, his whole being was on fire; and there had come a new blush to the girl's cheek, too.
"and listen to me," he was saying in a low whisper; "you do not know how you have touched my heart, how much i admire you and wish to help you. you are so beautiful,—i have never seen any one so beautiful,—and i—ah, we could go far away from all this horror, and you need never know of it, or hear of it again. i would take care of you and watch over you. you should have everything to make you happy, for i love you, oh, i cannot tell you how i love you! this is a dreadful place to say it; but what does it matter what these people think? they cannot understand, but we need not care. ah, i[77] wish you to be mine! i do not care how, but i will never let you suffer any harm. and oh, you must know that i will never let you leave me!"
and so he went on, swiftly, breathlessly, eloquently; and first he ventured to put his arms about her; and then to kiss her; and when he saw that she was trembling, and that tears of emotion had risen to her eyes, he clasped her to him passionately.
and so another hour fled by; and when at last there came a tap upon the door, the girl sat upon robbie's lap with her face buried in his shoulder. "and now," said robbie, as mrs. lynch entered, "come and sit down, and let us settle."
