The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-05-08

with girl of her own age. who it i'm
pressed me as l stopped and spoke to MAI
ghita was anything but desirable COM
paDlon for her. She was pretty girl, in q
hard. matter-of-fact sort OF way, and be-
haved quietly enough, but Marghita'5 en-
barraSsment and evident desire first to avoid
me. and when | made that impossible. to
cut the interview as short as might be,
aroused my concern.
AS soon as l could find time therefore I
went around TO her little room, hoping the
opportunity would present itself for me to
be Of help to her. did not find her how
ever. Instead there was another occupant
OF the room, an elderly woman, who in
formed me she had only been in the house
week and knew nothing about my little
friend. sought out the landiady, who, i'm
answer 10 my ring at the bell in the hail.
came hurrying from her apartment pulling
down the sleeves OF her blue cotton gown
and eying me with a speculative gaze tflat
turned to one OF stern dlsapprOval when
asked for Marghita. She was a Door.
woman, she told me, and needed 10 rent
her rooms, but she wasn't reduced to bavin'
that sort in her hou3e and she'd sent the
Spanish hussY tramping fortnight ago.
presume my surprise and concern must
have shown in my face for she said, pres
emily. as stood looking at her in dismayed .
silence:
Il s'pose she fooled you same s she did
me. She was a sly one, bnt when / found
scat, the shameless thing" and the woman
fairly bristled In the rigidity Of her virtu0us
Indignation.
l turned away. heartsick. and walked
down the three long flights of stairs unable
even to think. In the light of the COM
psny in which had so recently seen Mar
ghita | had no doubt but that the landiady's
statement Of the case was based upon fact.
but / did not for a moment imagine the
child had ever deceived me. She had SIM
t,IN dan In had To fofa
less seemed from her point of view. The
system that is squeezing the life blood out
of so many w0men's hearts had sent a little
more into the gutter, that was all. 1t hap
pens almost every day, dear sisters, when
pain and priyation, solitude and hunger and
overwork are hourly paving the way for
the consummati0n OF the evil that men do
One soul more had gone down under the
pressure 1t was not fitted to survive.
The woman who kept the house had no
knowledge of where Marghita could have :
gone l went TO the fOreWomau from whom
had first heard of her, but she could tell
me nothing; the girl had not been near her
for work In a month. She promised 10
make inquiries and let me know il she ever
happened to hear of her, and there was !.
forced TO let the book remain closed for
while, until such time as the next chapter .
would be ready for me.
1t was longer in coming than / had an
tieipated. 1t was nearly year after that
when received brief note from the driY-
ing business woman One of her work
women had mentioned to her seeing Mar
ghita in the street, and had found out where
she was staying, with companion. In the
neighborhuod OF ''far Flat"
"Mary." the note ran, says the girl looks
like death, and she don't believe she is going
TO last long"
/ was not long in finding my way to Che
address given, which found to be a cheap
dismal-l0oking clearinghouse in a street that
swarmed with clamOrng, quarreling chill
dren. where idle men louuged In little knots
on every corner and hard-faced women
leaned, barearmed and bareheaded, out or
upper windows and talked from house to
house, up and down and across the narrow.
plank paved street. The door at which
rang was opened for me by one of these
women, who looked at me curiousy. There
was no one OF that name in the house, she
said, when | asked for Marghita.
For an instant | felt baff1ed. Then re-
fecting that the gll had in all probability
suppressed her true name gave the woman
a description of the person was locking
for and was rewarded by her saying:
"Yes, there's gal like that III the house,
but she's sick" However. asked and was
given permission to go upstairs TO her room
and was soon tapping at the door of little
back bedroom. A faint voice babe me
on a wretehed-looking bed in the ill-kept,
squalid room. She looked at me. startled,
ard lifted one feeble, protesting hand.
:" thought Jess had come back" she
said. Then she recognized me, and with a
bitter cry turned away and hid her face in
the pillow.
| went forward and. kneeling beside her,
slipped one hand under her poor thin cheek
and turned her face toward me. "Marghita,"
l said, i've come TO see you; won't you
look at me? No reply. | told her how
anxious / had been to find her, how glad
nod hmm IN laar hnr od6raec. hox tn
find her so sick. Finally she broke into
away, 60 away" She said. "what made
you come? didn't want to be found. L
wanted to die and be out of it ALL" I
soothed her as gently as / could, trying to
comfort her with assurances OF better health
and better days.
You don't know. You don't know" she .
moaned, 'or you wouldn't touch me or come
near me. Pm not good any more"
Who is good. Marghita?" l asked.
But l am bad, all through" the poor
child persisted.
'0h, you don't know, you can't know, or
You would leave me. am bad" and
she seemed to nerve herself for the despe-
rate plunge, II have-Sinned."
Through my mind passed that solemn
declaration of holy writ:
For all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God"
drew the shnddering form closer. "My
DEAR" | said. Il know that you have been
sinned against"
She was too weak to maintain the strug-
gle, and presently she turned her wan face
toward me. / have some knowledge of
medicine, and / saw she had spoken truth;
she was dying. The fearful life of the
street had been too much for her feeble
strength, already slapped by overw0rk and
insufficient food, and deaths marx was
plainly upon her.
Before long Jess returned, and l saw her
to be the same young girl had seen her
with In the early winter. l surmiSed that .
she had had much to do with Marghita's