Harry
dismissed the negro woman with a few kind words, and the promise that he
would send for her if she could help them in any way. Then when he had
sent the others away from the room and the hallway he turned to the
nurse.
"Miss Farwell, I am sorry that I was forced to send for you, but you can
see that there was nothing else to do. I knew you would come without loss
of time, and I dared not leave her without a white woman in the room." He
paused and went to the bedside. "Poor, poor little girl. She tried so
hard to die, nurse; she will try again the moment she regains
consciousness. These good colored people would do anything for her, but
she must see one of her own race when she opens her eyes." He paused
seemingly at a loss for words.
Miss Farwell spoke for the first time, "She is a good girl, Doctor? Not
that it matters you know, but--"
Dr. Harry spoke positively, "Yes, she is a good girl; it is not that,
nurse."
"Then how--" Miss Farwell glanced around the room. "Then why is she
here?"
No one ever heard Dr. Harry Abbott speak a bitter word, but there was a
strange note in his voice as he answered slowly, "She is here because
there seems to be no other place for her to go. She did this because
there seemed to be nothing else for her to do."
Then briefly he related the sad history of this good girl with a bad
reputation. "Dr. Oldham and I tried to help her," he said, "but some ugly
stories got started and somehow Grace heard them.
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