"Where does your mother live?" asked Frank.
"In Hurst court."
"Is it far from here?"
"Only about five minutes' walk."
"I will go with you," said Frank, with sudden resolution, "and if I find your mother is as badly off as you say, I will give you something."
"Come, then, sir; I will show you the way."
Frank followed the little girl till he found himself in a miserable court, shut in by wretched tenements. Alice entered one of the dirtiest of these, and Frank followed her up a rickety staircase to the fourth floor. Here, his guide opened a door and led the way into a dark room, almost bare of furniture, where, upon a bed in the corner, lay a wan, attenuated woman. Beside her sat the little girl of four to whom Alice had referred.
"Mother," said Alice, "here is a kind young gentleman, who has come to help us."
"Heaven bless him!" said the woman, feebly. "We are in dire want of help."
"How long have you been sick?" asked Frank, compassionately.