"Ah, but you can't jolt the poor thing all the way into town—" Susanna began again. Mrs. Porter, at her shoulder, interrupted her in an earnest whisper:
"Sue, dear, it's always done. It won't take very long, and nobody expects you—"
"I know just how Susanna feels," interrupted Mrs. Ellis, "but after all, you never can tell—we don't know one thing about her—"
"She'll be taken good care of," finished the doctor, soothingly.
"Please—don't let them frighten—my husband—" said the woman herself, slowly, her distressed eyes moving from one face to another. "If I could—be moved somewhere before he hears—"
"We won't frighten him," Susanna assured her tenderly. "But will you tell us your name so we may let him know?"
The injured woman frowned. "I did tell you—didn't I?" she asked painfully.
"No"—Susanna would use this tone in her nursery some day—"No, dear, not yet."
"Tell us again," said the doctor, with too obvious an intention to soothe.
The woman gave him a look full of dignified reproach.