Could the girl be so indiscreet? ...
Nothing could have been easier for him than to answer the question for himself by peeping. But he would not do it, for the hotel-porter was a gentleman.
The question that troubled him was, however, soon to answer itself.
One afternoon, when Ruth was out to Ernie's knowledge, he was surprised to hear in the dressing-room the familiar voices of Céleste and another maid, hushed and whispering.
"She keeps the key her side," one was saying.
"What's it matter who keeps the key?" the other answered. "That's only a bluff."
The door was slightly ajar.
"He don't seem to have give her nothing," said the one at the dressing-table discontentedly.
"Only cash. Cash is the thing. Then you can get what you like for yourself."
"Here's her Bible and pray-book! Look!—Ain't she just the little limit?—and that close with it too."