hen, with a nasty
sound in it, but I hope we can ward off pneumonia. It was great of you
to put your overcoat around her. That saved her, if anything can, I
guess. You look pretty well used up yourself. Wouldn't you like the
doctor to give you something before you go home?"

"No, thank you. I'll be all right. I'm hard as nails. I'm only anxious
about her. You see, she's had a pretty tough pull of it. She started to
walk to the city! Did you know that? I fancy she'd gone about two miles.
It was somewhere along near the river I found her. It seems she got "all
in" and sat down on a door-step to rest. She must have fallen asleep.
Some tough fellows came out of a saloon--they were full, of course--and
they discovered her. I heard her scream, and we had quite a little
scuffle before we got away. She's a nervy little girl. Think of her
starting to walk to the city at that time of night, without a cent in
her pocket!"

"The poor child!" said Nurse Wright, with tears in her kind, keen eyes.
"And she left her last cent here to pay for her room! My! When I think
of it I could choke that smart young snob that called on her in the
afternoon! You ought to have heard her sneers and her insinuations.
Women like that are a blight on womanhood! And she dared to mention your
name--said you had sent her!"

The color heightened in Courtland's face. He felt uncomfortable. "Why,
I--didn't exactly send her," he began, uneasily. "I don't really know
her very well. You see, I'm just a student at the university and of
course I don't know a great many girls in the city. I thought it would
be nice if some girl would call on Miss Brentwood; she seemed so alone.
I thought another girl would understand and be able to comfort her."

"She isn't a _girl_, that's what's the matter with her; she's a little
_demon_!" snapped the nurse. "You meant well, and I dare say she never
showed _you_ the demon side of her. Girls like that don't--to young
_men_. But if you take my advice you won't have anything more to do with
_her_! She isn't worth it! She may be rich and fashionable and all that,
but she can't hold a candle to Miss Brentwood! If you had just heard how
she went on, with her nasty little chin in the air and her nasty phrases
and insinuations, and her patronage! And then Miss Brentwood's gentle,
refined way of answering her! But never mind, I won't go into that! It
might take me all night, and I've got to go back to my patient. But you
are not to b