. I don't mind," she answered, and her heart gave a great pump of
relief.

"It'll be more comfortable at night, too," said Mrs. Palmer. "That
makes the four rooms full, now, and I'll see that your room gets done
up every day with the others. I presume we'll hear from her soon."

The next day she approached Miss Mary with an open letter in her hand.

"Mrs. Meeker's to live with her brother, now, he's paralysed," she
announced. "She's sent me a check for the rent and you've paid
twenty-four dollars, I see. I'm going over to pack up her stuff and
she'll sell me the rest reasonable enough. I'm going to take her
house, too. There's a new roomer comes to-day--I think I'll put him in
her old room. Or if you," with a shrewd glance at Miss Mary, "wanted
to economise at all. I'd rent you hers for four dollars and give this
gentleman yours. And I'm usually paid in advance, so if you could make
it convenient----"

"I'll attend to it," said Miss Mary, "but I'll keep the room, I think.
I don't like change."

She went up to her room, and Dr. Jarvyse would have been amazed at the
easy quickness of her gait. She had it all planned, now--the diamonds
should go first, and then she would buy some fruit and a plant for her
room. She liked her room very much; she did as she pleased in it and
no one spied on her or suggested ways of passing the time. Was it some
faint memory of her room as a girl, before her brother made his great
fortune, that found this dull, half-worn chamber so home-like and
soothing? Every afternoon she dusted it, as the chambermaid suggested
most ladies expected to, and once she had turned the mattress and made
the bed, when the girl felt ill. It gave her a sense of competence and
executive ability.

Now she went to the little chamois skin roll, unpicked the tight knots
carefully, opened it--and dropped on her knees. The roll was empty.
On the compartment where the diamond cross had fitted, stretched a
soiled, streaked thumb mark; mechanically she sniffed it--it smelled of
tar. The dirty fellow with the bundle who had followed her down the
elevated steps had smelled of tar, too, had Miss Mary remembered it.

Well, it was over. She never had a moment's doubt. She had no means,
she could not starve, nobody would keep her, and she must go back to
Dr. Jarvyse. She groaned in anguish as she looked about her dear, safe
room and thought of the horrible luxury of that guarded prison, the
birds and th