"Don't be a little goat!" I said; and that seemed to make her take to me
and trust me.
"What do you want me to do?" she asked.
"I'll tell you," I said; and I found that it wasn't easy. "First place,"
I said, "I've got some money saved up. That will keep you on Easy Street
till I get back from Sydney. If by that time nothing's turned up that
you want of your own free heart and will, I'll ask you to pay me back
by--by changing your name."
She didn't quite follow.
"That," said I, "gives you a chance to look around--gives you one small
chance in a million to light on some man you can care for and who'll
care for you and take care of you. Failing that, it would be fair enough
for you to take me, failing a better. See?"
"You mean," she said, "that if things don't straighten out, it would be
better for me to become Mrs. Bower than walk the streets? Is that it?"