How came you here, if you have no one belonging to you ?" Falteringly, her sweet eyes dropped on the ground, with only now and then a timid, appealing glance at this terrible person, this awful judge who had suddenly dropped from the skies, Marie told her little story, or as much of it as she thought needful.

She had been with bad people, playing for them, a long time, she did not know how long.

And then they would take away her violin, and she would not stay, and she ran away from them, and had walked all day, and--and that was all.

A little sob shook her voice at the last words; she had not realised before how utterly alone she was.

The delight of freedom, of getting away from her tyrants, had been enough at first, and she had been as it were on wings all day, like a bird let loose from its cage; now the little bird was weary, and the wings drooped, and there was no nest, not even a friendly cage where one would find food and drink, A sudden passion of pity--he supposed it was pity--shook the strong man.