The Basket
An Odd Little Tale
By HERBERT J. MANGHAM
MRS. BUHLER told him at first that she had no vacancies, but as he started away she thought of the little room in the basement.
He turned back at her call.
“I have got a room, too,” she said, “but it’s a very small one and in the basement. I can make you a reasonable price, though, if you’d care to look at it.”
The room was a problem. She always hesitated to show it to people, because so often they seemed insulted at her suggestion that they would be satisfied with such humble surroundings. If she gave it to the first applicant, he would likely be a disreputable character who might detract from the respectability of her house, and she would have to face the embarrassment of getting rid of him. So she was content for weeks at a time to do without the pittance the room brought her.
“How much is it?” asked the man.
“Seven dollars a month.”
“Let me see it.”