"Yes, sir; but this was a case of necessity." "I beg your pardon, miss, it is a matter of business. When you have finished the batch we will pay you, and not till then." "But, sir, I need the money very much." "That is your affair, not ours. Probably you have friends and can borrow money, if you need it sooner than we are ready to pay it to you." "I don't know where to find them," thought Rose, but she did not say this. The superintendent had already turned away, as if to intimate that he had no more time to give her. Rose walked to the elevator slowly and sadly, and descended to the main store. "What shall I do?" she thought. "Mrs. Flanagan will turn us out, and then poor Addie will suffer." As she stepped out into the street the thought of the ring came back to her. It was dear to her as a cherished legacy from a mother early lost and deeply mourned, yet it had a money value which would relieve their pressing necessities for a week at least. "I don't think mother would wish me to keep it under the circumstances," she thought. "Addie will scold me, but it appears to be the only thing that remains for me to do. Heaven knows that I don't wish to part with it." The proper place to go would have been to a pawnbroker's shop, but Rose did not know of one. She had never had dealings with any. As she passed a jewelry store it occurred to her that perhaps they would buy it inside, and she entered. "In what way can I serve you, miss?" asked a young man behind the counter. "I--I wish to dispose of a ring," said Rose, hurriedly. "Can you tell me the value of it?" and she slipped the ring from her finger and offered it to the salesman. "We don't buy second-hand jewelry," said the clerk, rudely. "We sell rings here; don't buy them." "Then would you be kind enough to lend me two dollars on it till--till next week?" entreated Rose. "It must be worth much more than that." "It doesn't matter how much it is worth," said the clerk. "We ain't in that line of business. You don't suppose we keep a pawnbroker's shop, do you?" and he laughed contemptuously, glancing at a tall lady who stood beside Rose and had listened attentively to the conversation, as if inviting her to enjoy the joke with him. "Then perhaps you will direct me to a pawnbroker's," said Rose, ill at ease. "Oh, you can go find one on the Bowery," said the clerk, carelessly. "Now, madam," turning to the tall lady, "what can I show you?" His tone was much more respectful than the one he employed in speaking to Rose, for the lady, though far from beautiful, and no longer young, was handsomely-dressed, and had the appearance of being wealthy. "You can't show me anything to-day, young man," said Miss Jane Wilmot, for it was she. "I wish to speak to this young lady. My dear, come out of the store with me. I wish to ask you a few questions." The clerk arched his brows in surprise and disappointment as his hoped-for customer walked away without purchasing anything, followed by Rose.