Part 10 (2/2)

She alking up Washi+ngton Street It was late in the afternoon of a bitter January day

”God ht Mary Elizabeth, ”He ht to be one for one extry little girl”

But she thought this in a gentle way She was a very gentle little girl

All girls who hadn't anything were not like Mary Elizabeth

So now she was shuffling up Washi+ngton Street, not knowing exactly what to do next,--peeping into people's faces, tiirl can be very heart-sick), colder, she thought, every rier each hour than she was the hour before

The child left Washi+ngton Street at last, where everybody had hoirl, and turned into a short, bright, showy street, where stood a great hotel

Whether the door-keeper ay, or busy, or sick, or careless, or whether the head-waiter at the dining-rooar, or whether the clerk at the desk was so noisy that he couldn't hear so still a beggar, or however it was, Mary Elizabeth did get in; by the door-keeper, past the head-waiter, under the shadow of the clerk, over the smooth, slippery marble floor the child crept on

She came to the office door and stood still She looked around her ide eyes She had never seen a place like that Lights flashed over it,They were all warm Not one of them looked as if he had had no dinner and no breakfast and no supper

”How irl, ”it uess maybe there'll be one for me in here”

Mary Elizabeth stood in the middle of it, in her pink calico dress and red plaid shawl The shaas tied over her head and about her neck with a ragged tippet Her bare feet showed in the old rubbers She began to shuffle about the roo out one purple little hand

One or two of the gentle at all; most did not notice, or did not seem to notice, the child One said: ”What's the matter here?”

Mary Elizabeth shuffled on She went from one to the other, less timidly; a kind of desperation had taken possession of her The odours froe roast ht of Jo

It seeet a supper, she should ju and steal like Jo She held out her hand, but only said: ”I'entleman who had asked: ”What's the matter here?” He called her in behind his daily paper which was big enough to hide three of Mary Elizabeth, and when he saw that nobody was looking he gave her a five-cent piece in a hurry, as if he had coo now, go!”

Then he began to read his newspaper quite hard and fast and to look severe, as one does who never gives anything to beggars, as ato Mary Elizabeth She shuffled froentleman shook his head One called for a waiter to put her out This frightened her and she stood still

Over by a , in a lonely corner of the great roo apart from the others He sat with his elbows on the table and his face buried in his ar hair

Mary Elizabeth wondered why he looked so ht, perhaps, that if he weren't so happy as the other gentleirls She hesitated, then walked along and directly up to hientlemen laid down their papers and watched this; they smiled and nodded to each other The child did not see the man's arm

He started The brown, curly head lifted itself fro face looked sharply at the beggar girl,--a beautiful young face it ard now and dreadful to look at,--bloated and badly marked with the unhly said:

”What do you want?”

”I'ry,” said Mary Elizabeth