have gone to see him to-night, to see when he can
be moved away."

"And Etta--what will become of her?"

Mrs. Mundy looked into the fire. "What can become of any girl like
that but to go back to the old life? She's an outcast forever."

"And he--" I got up. All the repression of past ages was breaking
into revolt. "He will go home and feed on the leaven of Pharisees
and hypocrites, and later he will marry a girl of his world, and the
world that will give him welcome will keep Etta in her hell. I
wonder sometimes that God doesn't give us up--we who call ourselves
clean and good! We are a lot of cowards, most of us women, of
'fraid-cats and cowards!"

My hands made gesture, and, going to the window, I looked out,
ashamed of my outburst. Beating one's head against the walls of
custom and convention accomplished nothing. All sane people agreed
concerning the injustice of one person paying the price of the sin of
two people; all normal ones admitted that what was wicked in a woman
was wicked in a man, but agreement and admission were terms of
speech. Translation into action would have meant a bigger price than
even sane and normal and righteous people were willing to pay. Men
could hardly be blamed, but women should be, for the continuance of
old points of view. Women are no longer ignorant or dependent, and
the time for silence and acceptance is past. Perhaps the women of
Lillie Pierce's world are not so much to be despaired of as some of
mine and other sheltered worlds; the soulless, spineless, selfish
ones who cannot always justly draw their skirts aside, and yet do
draw them with eyebrows raised, and curling lips, and gesture that
means much. I, too, have been a coward. I, too, have been long
asleep. But there were other women who had been making splendid
fight while I was wasting time, and at thought of them came courage,
and under my breath I prayed God to make it grow.

"You must bring Etta here." I turned from the window. "I want to
talk to her, to see if something can't be done. Surely something can
be done! She might get some rooms not far from here and take the
child to live with her. Mr. Thorne will doubtless make his brother
go away. Can you see her to-morrow and bring her here?"

Mrs. Mundy got up. "You are dead tired and ought to go to bed.
Night before last you didn't sleep two hours, and I heard you up late
last night. You mustn't take things too hard, Miss Dandridge." She