Every word was a knife thrust through the sensitive, bleeding heart of the distracted mother.

“Oh,” she thought, “that some one in this great, crowded city might love my darling, and that she need not fall into the hands of this woman!

“Mrs. Gray,” she asked excitedly, and with an effort controlling the great dry sobs which were choking her, “won’t you promise me one thing?  Won’t you keep Rosa at least till spring?  What can my baby do without a home and without a mother, especially when the weather is so bitterly cold?  The mere thought of such a possibility drives me insane with fear and grief.  She can run errands for you, and grandpa loves her so.  Do not deny me, for I am almost dead!”

Mrs. Gray half staggered backward, for never before had she heard Mrs. Browning speak with such intensity.  The dark eyes riveted upon her conquered even this unfeeling heart, and before realizing the import of her words, granted the request.  “But,” she added in the same breath, “there ain’t many that’d do it, I can tell you that.”

“And be gentle with her, Mrs. Gray.  She is so affectionate, she will miss her mother and the love I have always bestowed upon her.”

Thinking that other promises still more difficult to fulfill might be exacted, Mrs. Gray hastily left the room.

“Thank God,” the mother murmured falling back upon her pillow, “my baby will have food and shelter at least till spring, but how she will miss the love!”

The hot tears began coursing down the flushed cheeks, causing Rosa to give a cry of alarm as she stepped up to the bedside.

“Mother dear, do you feel worse?  Why do you cry?”

“My darling, mother is tired now and cannot talk.  Pull the little table up by the bed, then if I can eat some supper, we shall talk afterward.  There is something I want to tell you.”

Mechanically she obeyed, weighted beneath the feeling that something dreadful was about to happen.  The trembling of the tiny hands and twitching of the delicate face betrayed a heart suffering which a child of her tender years should never know.

The odor of the steak, while being broiled, had given Rosa an appetite, for her dinner had consisted only of boiled potatoes.  Now, however, that mother apparently did not relish her supper, it seemed that every mouthful would choke her.

With a feeling of relief, the supper things at last were cleared away, and Rosa sat down by the sufferer, taking her hot thin hand within her own.

“You need not talk, mother, if you do not feel like it, but I do so want to know about the moving, and you won’t go without me, will you?  But oh, I have such good news, I must tell you the very first thing!  Mebbe it will change your plans and make it easier to know what to do.