"I think I will be able to make a place for you. It would be a pity to send away such a pretty girl as you are."
Ida May drew back in alarm. She did not like the remark, nor the look which accompanied it; but she dared not make an indignant reply.
"Where are you stopping?" he asked in the next breath.
"I have just reached the city, sir," she responded. "I came in search of a position even before I found a place to stop."
"It is well you did so," he responded quickly. "I know of a place that I think will suit you. The lady has no other boarders. You would be company for her. I would make this observation here and now: the girls we have here are a talkative set. Pay no attention to their remarks."
He wrote an address on a slip of paper, and handed it to the girl.
"I am very grateful, sir, for the interest you have taken in me, a poor girl," she said, tremulously. "Shall I report to-day for work, sir?" she asked. "I should like to commence as soon as possible."
"To-morrow will do," he answered.
With a heart full of thanks, she left the office.