"What imperance!" "Come, madam, be in a hurry!" persisted the conductor, reaching forward and taking the old lady's largest bundle from the rack. "I should like to speak to you a moment, Mr. Conductor," I interposed, unable any longer to contain my indignation. "What do you want?" I rose, and requested him to go with me to the rear of the car. "Speak quick, young man. Do you know this woman?" demanded the bustling official. "No; but I will be responsible for her fare," I replied, with as much dignity as Mr. Collingsby could have assumed. "If she don't pay you when we get to Chicago, I will." "Will you, indeed! That is very kind of you; but we don't do business in that way," laughed the conductor, with a glance which indicated how much he pitied my greenness. "She has money enough, and she didn't buy any ticket. It is only a trick to get rid of paying her fare." "I will be responsible for the fare." "Pay it now, then," added the conductor, shrugging his shoulders. I do not know what it was that prompted me to this chivalrous action in favor of a very disagreeable old lady; but I felt like a Christian who was fighting the battle of his enemy. I took out my porte-monnaie, and from the fifty-three dollars I had left of the sum I had taken to pay my expenses, I gave the conductor twelve. He handed me a check for the old lady, jumped out, and started the train. He treated me as though he thought I was a fool; and I was myself inclined to believe he was more than half right. Several passengers had left the car at this station, and when I returned to my seat, I found that Mr. Collingsby had changed his place for one where he had a whole chair to himself, at some distance from the old lady. I had no doubt he was glad to escape from the vicinity of the troublesome passenger; but he still read his newspaper, as though nothing had for a moment ruffled the current of his thoughts. "I knew he wouldn't dare to put me out of the car!" said Mrs. Whippleton, as I resumed my seat at her side. "Don't talk to me! He didn't dare to perpetuate such an outrage." "We are all right now," I replied. "Yes, we are. Put me out! I should like to seen him done it! I should! I reckon my son Charles would have taught him what it was to perpetuate such an outrage on his mother. As for that Mr. Collingsby, he's a mean man! Only to think that he didn't know me!" "Have you ever met him?" "Have I? Yes, I have. I have been in the counting-room when he was there, and he looked right at me! And now he don't know me! No matter; that conductor didn't dare to put me out of the car! He would have lost his place if he had." I handed her the check which the gentlemanly official had given me. "What's that?" "Your check." "He's gettin' very perlite. How came he to give you this?" "Because I paid your fare," I replied, in a low tone; for I did not care to expose my innocence to the people around me. "You did?"