as little Pink--and then he thought of
Mrs. Raimon, whose wealth and serenity of temper had a greater appeal
than ever before. He knew perfectly well that a single word from him
would bring her and her money to his rescue at once. But something arose
in him which made the utterance of such a word impossible. As for Cora
and the little one, they brought up a different emotion, and the thought
of them at last aroused him to action.

"I'll get something to do and earn money enough to go back on," he
finally said to himself; "that's all I'm fit for, just to work by the
day for some other man; that's my size. I've failed in everything else
I've ever undertaken. I've no business to interfere with a girl like
Mary. She's too high class for a hobo like me; even if I had a ranch it
would be playing it low down on a singer like her to ask her to go out
there. It's no use; I'm worse than a failure--I'm in a hole, and the
first thing I've got to do is to earn money enough to get out of it."

He was ashamed to go back to the little hotel to which he had said
good-by with so much relief. It was too expensive for him, anyhow, and
so he set to work to find one near by which came within his changed
condition. He secured lodging at last in an old wooden shack on a side
street not far from the station, where rooms could be had for twenty
cents a night--in advance. It was a wretched place, filled with
cockroaches and other insects, but it was at least a hole in which he
could den up for a few nights when sleep overcame him. Thus fortified,
he wandered forth into the city, which was becoming each moment more
remorseless and more menacing in his eyes.

Almost without knowing it, he found himself walking the broad pavement
before the musical college wherein he found Mary. He had no definite
hope of seeing her again, but that doorway was the one spot of light in
all the weltering black chaos of the city, which now threatened him with
hunger and cold. The awe and terror he felt were such as a city dweller
would feel if left alone in a wild swamp filled with strange beasts and
reptiles.

After an hour's aimless walking to and fro, he returned to his bed each
night, still revolving every conceivable plan for earning money. His
thought turned naturally to the handling of cattle at the stockyards,
and one morning he set forth on his quest, only to meet with a great
surprise. He found all the world changed to him when it became known
that he was