other side of the
road outside an unoccupied house, and although he was in a hurry to get
home he crossed over to see what was the matter. There were about
twenty people standing there, and in the centre close to the railing
there were three or four women whom Slyme could not see although he
could hear their voices.

'What's up?' he inquired of a man on the edge of the crowd.

'Oh, nothing much,' returned the other. 'Some young woman; she's
either ill, come over faint, or something--or else she's had a drop too
much.'

'Quite a respectable-looking young party, too,' said another man.

Several young fellows in the crowd were amusing themselves by making
suggestive jokes about the young woman and causing some laughter by the
expressions of mock sympathy.

'Doesn't anyone know who she is?' said the second man who had spoken in
reply to Slyme's inquiry.

'No,' said a woman who was standing a little nearer the middle of the
crowd. 'And she won't say where she lives.'

'She'll be all right now she's had that glass of soda,' said another
man, elbowing his way out of the crowd. As this individual came out,
Slyme managed to work himself a little further into the group of
people, and he uttered an involuntary cry of astonishment as he caught
sight of Ruth, very pale, and looking very ill, as she stood clasping
one of the railings with her left hand and holding the packages of
groceries in the other. She had by this time recovered sufficiently to
feel overwhelmed with shame and confusion before the crowd of strangers
who hemmed her in on every side, and some of whom she could hear
laughing and joking about her. It was therefore with a sensation of
intense relief and gratitude that she saw Slyme's familiar face and
heard his friendly voice as he forced his way through to her side.

'I can walk home all right now,' she stammered in reply to his anxious
questioning. 'If you wouldn't mind carrying some of these things for
me.'

He insisted on taking all the parcels, and the crowd, having jumped to
the conclusion that he was the young woman's husband began to dwindle
away, one of the jokers remarking 'It's all over!' in a loud voice as
he took himself off.

It was only about seven minutes' walk home from there, and as the
streets along which they had to pass were not very brilliantly lighted,
Ruth was able to lean on Slyme's arm most of the way. When they
arrived home, after she had removed her hat, he made her si