my arms.

"'Florence, darlin', is it ye?' I asked, with my own feelin's stirred
so that I could scarcely speak. She pushed me away from her with a
sort o' frenzy, an' she says, 'Ye should not shelter the likes o' me,
whose own people have turned their backs fer the shame o' it.'

"'Ye trust me, surely, darlint,' I answered, takin' her baby from her
arms, an' leadin' the way to the kitchen, where we would be alone, with
a great, cracklin' fire in the stove to sit by. I gave her food and
comforted her, an' tended the baby, while she told me about hersilf,
with an occasional spell o' cryin' an' a wild, weird expression on her
face that gave me bad dreams fer many a night.

"'He was more than bridge foreman,' she said, 'he was a son o' the
contractor himself, an' when he left for the city, the mornin' after
our marriage, it was to go away to forrin parts, South America or some
other outlandish place. His father made him do it, fer he was full o'
pride, and wanted no country lass as a wife fer his son. I stayed at
home as long as I could, an' then my sisters discovered the truth.
They scolded me dreadfully, an' my father threatened to lock me up.
That evening I walked into town, an' took the train fer the city. I
searched fer two or three days before I learned the true name o' my
husband, an' when I went to his home, which was grander than any
building I had seen before, they told me I was crazy. I had married a
man named Green, and he was not their son. I knew that they were
deceivin' me, but I was frightened an' I hurried away. I struggled fer
a while alone, an' then, when the baby came, a good woman out o' pity
took me in an' kept me till I could go to my work again. Then his
family heard o' the child an' sent fer me. When I called, they told me
that they were sorry for me an' wished to help me, although they would
not admit that they were bound by law to do so. They had secured
permission to place my baby in a home, an' I was glad enough o' the
chance, fer I was afeared that I could never support it myself. I had
the privilege of seeing her once or twice a week, an' those visits were
the bright spots in my life. I worked very hard, thinkin' that it
would cure my broken spirit an' the yearnin' which I had fer my child.
But it seemed useless to try, fer my will power was weakened by my
sufferin', so I went over to the home, an' the good people, knowin'
that I was her mother, let me take her out with me for