At this she wrung her hands and looked about in a dazed way, but answered nothing.
"See here, Grace," said the physician, "you know me, surely—old Doctor
Oldham, can't you tell me what it is that's wrong?"
She made no answer.
"Come, let me take you to the Hotel," he urged; "it's only a step."
"No—no," she moaned, "I can't go there. I don't live there any more."
"Well where do you live now?" he asked.
"Over in Old Town."
"But why did you leave your place at the Hotel?"
"A—a man there said something that I didn't like, and then the proprietor told me that I must go, because some of the people were talking about me, and I was giving the Hotel a bad name. Oh, Doctor, I ain't a bad girl, I ain't never been, but folks are driving me to it. That or—or—" she hesitated.
What could he say?