There was a wait of a minute, and she knocked again. At length the door was opened cautiously and Sarah Higgins, dressed in a dirty wrapper and with her hair flying in all directions, showed herself.
"Excuse me, but can you tell me where Mrs. Broaderick's house is?" asked Gertrude politely.
"What's that?" asked Sarah Higgins, in a high-pitched voice, and placed one hand behind her ear.
"I wish to find Mrs. Broaderick's house. Will you tell me where it is?" went on the girl, in a louder key.
"Don't know Mrs. Broaderick," replied Sarah Higgins. Then she gave Gertrude a searching look. "Come in and rest, won't you? You look tired out."
"Thank you; I'll rest a moment," answered Gertrude. She was somewhat dismayed by the turn affairs had taken. "And do you know most of the folks around here?" she continued.
The question had to be repeated twice before the half-deaf woman understood.
"Of course I do, miss," she answered. "Haven't I lived here going on forty-five years—since I was a little girl?"
"Then you must know Mrs. Broaderick—or perhaps she is a newcomer."
"Never heard the name before. But, tell me, is your name Gertrude?"