“What’s the matter, Mrs. Gerhardt?” he inquired. “Has anything happened to your daughter?”
“No, sir,” she returned, too troubled to wish to deceive him.
“Isn’t she coming for the laundry any more?”
“I—I—” ventured the mother, stammering in her perturbation; “she—they have been talking about her,” she at last forced herself to say.
“Who has been talking?” he asked gravely.
“The people here in the hotel.”
“Who, what people?” he interrupted, a touch of annoyance showing in his voice.
“The housekeeper.”
“The housekeeper, eh!” he exclaimed. “What has she got to say?”
The mother related to him her experience.