"That," said Rachel, "is impossible."
"Why?"
"It is not done. Besides, it would be dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"You might take any disease—or get into any kind of trouble. There are all sorts of traps."
"Why should they set traps?"
"Oh, all kinds of horrors happen.—Just look at the newspapers! A girl—alone—you'd be subjected to insult."
Hagar sighed. "I've always been alone. And I don't see that we are not subjected to insult everywhere. I could never feel more insulted than, sometimes, I have been at home."
Rachel, turning in her chair, darted at her a lightning-like glance of comprehension. "Well, that's true enough, though I never heard it put into words before! It's true.... But it remains that with our present conventions, you must have company when you go to see how the other half lives."
"The other half?"