For, as she said, had it been some one else—for instance, the boy at the brick-yards—she should not have had a word to say, but should rather have helped them to come together and begin house-keeping. No one could say of Madam Speckbom that she was hard on young folks. But throw herself away on such an old hog as Consul With—no! no! if Elsie did not hold herself any higher than that, then she could remain no longer under Madam Speckbom’s roof.
The usually mild-tempered lady was raging, now that she had once become angry. And this had stirred and vexed her to the uttermost. Such a boundless falseness in Elsie, to fool her with the boy from the brick-works—her, Madam Speckbom, who had so sure an eye in such matters—and then, Consul With! No, there could be no question at all that Elsie had shown the blackest ingratitude, and was a detected false and giddy thing.
Loppen was standing out in the dark street before she fairly had her wits again. She had cried at first; but now she stopped to think it over. Her greatest fear was whether Madam would hold her peace, or whether everybody would hear of it.
It was cold where she was standing; the wind was blowing and she was without a wrap. She decided to go to a friend of hers, who worked in the neighborhood, and wait awhile; perhaps Madam would reconsider.
Loppen staid with her friend for the night, and the next morning she went over to Madam Speckbom’s house. But Madam saw her as she came down the hill and shut the door in her face.
Then only did Elsie realize that she was cast out in earnest; and her misfortune fell upon her with sudden force which seemed about to crush her. She slunk into the narrowest streets along the beach and walked along sobbing, with bowed head, without noticing where she was going.
Then she met the pleasant woman who had called on her several times.
“Poor, little Elsie!” said the kind woman. “What have they been doing to you? Come in with me; I live near by, and there you shall have such a good time and no one shall touch you. Come, my child.”
It made Elsie unspeakably happy to hear these friendly words, and she gladly went with her.
The house was rather small and lay hidden between two big warehouses which belonged to Consul With. The woman took her up into a cosy, little room which looked toward the sea. Farther in was a yet smaller and yet cosier bed-chamber.