I. A. R. Wylie

“ You see, the waiter frightened me. I thought a poached egg——”
“Look here,” he interrupted peremptorily, “hadn't you got more than sixpence in the world?'
“No.”
“Where are your people?”
“I haven't got any people. I'm——” She stopped, and though he did not see it, her eyes hardened. “I'm all alone.”
He turned and looked irresolutely about him.
“Walk with me to the end of the street,” he said quietly. “You had better tell me about things. We'll waive etiquette, if you don't mind. I have always found that etiquette is suitable only for people with bank accounts.” ”

“ John Ingles stood in the shadow, motionless as some graven image of despair.
All night and all day she had kept her place, scarcely speaking save to give the necessary orders, apparently indefatigable. But in the twelve hours following that sudden fainting fit, she had changed. Something more than a fully matured womanhood had come over her. Her lips were tight set, and there was that in her eyes which mere age and care cannot give. They were hard and stony, and seemed to mock the soft, unmanageable curls that still framed the white, haggard features. ”

“ Everything was quiet and peaceful as she reached the entrance to Cohen & Leslie's premises. The watchman, who had just been his rounds, passed her unnoticing as she crouched among the shadows. He was whistling cheerily to himself, leaving behind him a suggestive odor of raw brandy.
Jessie Ingles waited until his heavy footsteps had died into silence, then she crept up to a little side door which led to her husband's office. As the clock of some neighboring church struck the hour, she inserted the key and turned it softly in the lock. Then she stood still and listened to the chimes. ”

“ I have brought dishonor on him, but I swear I will not betray him further, and that the dishonor shall only be reflected dishonor—not his own. It may be said that he married a bad woman, but it shall not be said that through his blindness others suffered. I am his partner—he said so—in all things—whether honestly or not—and I am here to defend what is his—and mine. You must not touch that money! You must go—at once!”
He shrugged his shoulders. ”

“ Cohen & Leslie are a respectable firm. They wouldn't care for a cashier whose wife was a murderess, even if she had the pluck to cut her own throat afterward. You see that, don't you?”
She stood still and looked at him, her lips parted as if she were breathing hard.
“There is one way—I might tell my husband the truth.”
“And ruin him. A man with a smear like that on his name is done for.” ”

“ Conquering the desire to choose at random, she asked for the bill of fare, and from the list of tempting mysteries she chose a poached egg—the only edible that came within the radius of her sixpence. The waiter, grown suddenly indifferent, flicked the table with his napkin and passed on, leaving her to her isolation.
She looked about her, and because her neighbor seemed unconsciously to companion her, she looked at him longest. She wondered who and what he was. In business probably—a big business. ”

“ I can't do much, for the simple, but unsatisfactory, reason that you are a woman and I am a man, and etiquette grabs us in spite of ourselves. If you were a man, I'd run you home and give you a shake-down and square meals till you got a job. As it is, I've got to get you the job at once. Here's my card and business address. You see, I'm head cashier to the firm. It's a big firm in a quiet way—Cohen & Leslie—but there are always odd jobs for people who aren't stiff-necked. You aren't stiff-necked, are you? ”

“ In a stage undertone he appealed to the waiter, who shrugged his shoulders. She understood that she had offended against the traditions of the place, and the sense of her loneliness and helplessness became crushing. It was clear that a woman with sixpence had no right here. ”

“ Toward evening the fog lifted. Jessie Arnold stood at the entrance to the narrow alley that led to Cohen & Leslie's offices, and gazed up at the network of silver drawn across the dome of impenetrable violet. Even when a man's footsteps rang out in the stillness she did not turn ”

“ But you haven't asked me for my good news.”
“I—did not know that it was good news.”
“Cohen was pleased about that letter you found. He made inquiries as to what you could do, and will offer you a post as secretary as soon as you have got on with your shorthand. It means two pounds a week.”
She turned swiftly.
“That's your doing. How can I thank you? Why are you so good to me?”
“Because you are dearer to me than anything on earth.” There was a little silence. The hand on her arm dropped as if setting her free. “It doesn't make any difference—whether you care or not—little partner. ”

“ I hate women who whine. I have said what I have to say. It's up to you to get out of the mess. If I wanted to hurt you, I could have you in the lockup in an hour, and your husband out of his job in three days. ”

“ The stranger put down sixpence. She made a little gesture of protest, and he laughed kindly.
“Don't argue. It's nothing. I'm pleased to have been able to help you out. The same thing happened to me once, and the fool man nearly ran me in.” The waiter here beat a hasty retreat. “That sort of thing happens to every one at some time or other. ”

“ Her step was like that of a sleepwalker, steady, mechanical, unerring. At the door of No. 5 Halley Street, Mrs. James met her.
“Oh, ma'am—I thought you was at home. I've been that frightened! The master came back half an hour ago in a high fever. I've sent for the doctor—— Why, dear Heaven—what is it? You're not going to——”
Mrs. John Ingles had collapsed senseless at her feet.
IV.
It was very quiet in Ingles' sick room. The lamp standing on the table at the side of the bed had been carefully shaded so that no light fell on the white face on the pillow; and the woman who called herself Mrs. ”

“ Maybe a girl walks out with 'er young man—I ain't got nothing against that, it's only right and nat'ral—but when she comes 'ome late at night with a torf what wears a diamond in his scarf—why, I strikes, that's all. ”