I will he all right, presently, if you will put me on the car." She indicated a street-car that was just stopping at the crossing.
"Are you quite sure that you are strong enough ?" he asked kindly, as he walked with her toward the car.
"Yes,"-- with a sad attempt to smile,--"yes, and I thank you very much, sir, for your gentle courtesy." He assisted her up the step of the car, and stood with bared head as she passed inside, and the conductor gave the signal.
The incident had attracted little attention from the passengers who were hurrying from the train.

Their minds were too intent upon other things to more than glance at this little ripple on the surface of life.

Those who had chanced to notice the woman's agitation had seen, also, that she was being cared for; and so had passed on, giving the scene no second thought.
When the man returned from the street to his grips on the depot platform, the hacks and hotel buses were gone.

As he stood looking about, questioningly, for some one who might direct him to a hotel, his eyes fell upon a strange individual who was regarding him intently.
Fully six feet in height, the observer was so lean that he suggested the unpleasant appearance of a living skeleton.

His narrow shoulders were so rounded, his form was so stooped, that the young man's first thought was to wonder how tall he would really be if he could stand erect.