Upon this pleasant by-play Judith smiled, yet knew that her future would change with Beth's. For if Beth went to Mrs. Grimstone, Judith must find work; she could no longer bear the consciousness that she was not earning. A little envy stirred in her, as she feared that she could not possibly, in spite of all her preparation, earn so much as Beth. In this belief the principal of her school confirmed her when she asked him if he could not find her a position.
"You understand that with your experience your salary will be small?" he asked her.
"Have I not done well since I came?" she inquired.
"I never had a better pupil," he replied. "But a few more months, Miss Blanchard——"
"How much could I earn to begin with?" she persisted.
"Forty dollars a month," he answered.
"So little?" she asked, disappointed.
"Perhaps fifty, if you have luck," he conceded. "But you'd better wait."
"I can't," Judith answered. "Will you tell me of any chance that you hear of?"
He promised that he would, yet gave her no immediate hope of a position. Judith was depressed; more and more it seemed to her that she was nothing, and her debt loomed large before her eyes. It seemed a great weight to carry—alone.