Linda was intensely hungry; it was long past her lunch-time, but she said nothing of it, while they waited tensely in that outer room. She had not failed the poor woman yet, and she would not now, at her most difficult hour.
At last the doctor appeared, his face beaming with smiles.
"Your baby is fine!" he announced. "And one of the sweetest little girls I have ever seen.... The nurse is putting her to bed now."
Mrs. Beach burst into tears of happiness, and rushed forward and clasped the surgeon's hand in rapture.
"Oh, I can never thank you enough!" she cried. Then, drying her eyes, she added, "And how much do I owe you, Doctor?"
The great man had been taking in the woman's appearance, her poor clothing, her work-hardened hands.
"Five dollars," he said, not making the mistake of saying "Nothing," for he realized that she would resent charity.
"The Lord be praised!" she exclaimed, reverently. "Two angels I have met today—you and Miss Carlton! Two utter strangers who do things like this for me!" She buried her head in Linda's arms and wept hysterically in her joy.
After the bill was paid, the doctor told them that they might stop in to see the baby. Following the nurse, they tiptoed down a corridor and into a children's ward, where they found the little tot in a white crib, breathing naturally, sleeping the dreamless sleep of childhood.
"She had better stay here for a few days," advised the nurse. "You can find a cheap room a couple of doors away from the hospital." And she handed Mrs. Beach a card.