"Yes; you plunged," agreed Mary. "And now look at the fix I'm in."
"But you've got a wonderful place!"
Mary smiled bitterly.
"Oh, yes; it's wonderful enough. I'm not only holding it under a false name, but now it turns out that even the references were false. And"—she looked sharply at Nell as something else occurred to her—"perhaps it doesn't end even there. Tell me—is your name really Nell Norcross?"
"Why, Mary Wayne! Of course it is!"
"Well, how could I be sure. I'm false; the references are false. Why couldn't your name be false, too? That would be the finishing touch; that would leave me—nowhere. And I'm just about there, as it is."
"But I am Nell Norcross, I tell you. I can prove that."
"Oh, I suppose so," said Mary, wearily. "So am I Nell Norcross, according to the references. If you've committed a crime, I suppose I have, too. They call it compounding it, don't they? Oh, we're both in; I dare say I'm in deeper than you, because I've been taking money for it."
"You haven't cheated them, have you? You've worked for it."
"Yes, I've worked. But—why, in Heaven's name, Nell, didn't you tell me all this before I started?"