The Calling Of Dan Matthews

ver sleeps."Grace Conner is a type common to every village, town and city in the land, the saddest of all sad creatures--a good girl with a bad reputation.Her reputation Grace owed first to her father

rose to her feet with his help."No sir.""Well, what have you been doing?""Nothing, Doctor. I--I was just walking around.""Why don't you go back to the Hotel? You are working there, are you not?"At this she wrung her hands and looked about in a dazed way, but answered nothing."See here, Grace," said the physician, "you know me, surely--old Doctor Oldham, can't you tell me what it is that's wrong?"She made no answer."Come, let me take you to the Hotel," he urged; "it's only a step.""No--no," she moaned, "I can't go there. I don't live there any more.""Well where do you live now?" he asked."Over in Old Town.""But why did you leave your place at the Hotel?""A--a man there said something that I didn't like, and then the proprietor told me that I must go, because some of the people were talking about me, and I was giving the Hotel a bad name. Oh, Doctor, I ain't a bad girl, I ain't never been, but folks are driving me to it. That or--or--" she hesitated.What could he say?"It's the same everywhere I try to work," she continued in a hopeless tone. "At the canning factory the other girls said their folks wouldn't let them work there if I didn't go. I haven't been able to earn a cent since I left the Hotel. I don't know what to do,--oh, I don't know what to do!" She broke down crying."Look here, why didn't you come to me?" the Doctor asked roughly. "You knew you could come to me. Didn't I tell you to?""I--I was afraid. I'm afraid of everybody." She shivered and looked over her shoulder.The Doctor saw that this thing had gone far enough. "Come with me," he said. "You must have something to eat."He started to lead her across the street toward Mrs. Mulhall whom he could see at the gate watching them. But the girl hung back."No, no," she panted in her excitement. "Not there, I dare not go there." The Doctor hesitated."Well, come to my house then," he said. She went as far as the gate then she stopped again."I can't, Doctor. Mrs. Oldham, I can't--" The girl was right. The Doctor was never so ashamed in all his life. After a little, he said with decision, "Look here, Grace, you sit down on the porch for a few minutes. Martha is in bed and fast asleep long ago." He stole away as quietly as possible, and in a little while returned with a basket full of such provisions as he could find in the pantry. He was chuckling to himself as he thought of Martha when she discovered the theft in the morning, and cursing half aloud the thing that made it necessary for him to steal from his