"What is the matter with her mother?" I asked.
"I cannot say," replied the chemist. "She has been ill a long time and ought to have a doctor. This is an old prescription; I have made it up several times."
"Am I right in supposing that they cannot afford 'a doctor?"
"That is evident. They are very poor. They owe me for three bottles already."
"She appears to be respectable," I said, as I paid him what was due.
"No doubt of it. She works day and night, and I should say it is as much as she can do to keep body and soul together."
At my request he wrote the address of a doctor in the neighborhood, and instructed me how to find him. Then I joined the young woman.
"You must accept my escort," I said. "It is hardly safe for you to be out on such a night. I am sincerely sorry for your trouble. I may be able to lighten it."
She trembled so violently that I feared she would fall, but she did not accept my arm. We walked side by side, in silence, till we reached one of the poorest houses in one of the poorest streets. There she stopped, and wished me good night, and thanked me for my services.
"I am going to fetch a doctor to your mother," I said. "How shall we obtain admittance?"