She looked sharply at him to see if she were being derided, but through her glasses she perceived no derision in his smile. He was saying to himself, "This is a very beautiful girl who wants to beg or to borrow. I wonder whether it is for herself or for some 'Committee'? The longer she talks the more I shall have to give. But I do not believe she is near-sighted." She plucked up her courage and said: "My name is Miss Maud Matchin." Farnham bowed, and rejoined: "My name is----" She laughed outright, and said: "I know well enough what your name is, or why should I have come here? Everybody knows the elegant Mr. Farnham." The smile faded from his face. "She is more ill-bred than I suspected," he thought; "we will condense this interview." He made no reply to her compliment, but looked steadily at her, waiting to hear what she wanted, and thinking it was a pity she was so vulgar, for she looked like the huntress Diana. Her eyes fell under his glance, which was not at all reassuring. She said in almost a humble tone: "I have come to ask a great favor of you. I am in a good deal of trouble." "Let us see what it is, and what we can do," said Farnham, and there was no longer any banter in his voice. She looked up with sudden pleasure, and her glasses fell from her eyes. She did not replace them, but, clasping her hands tightly together, exclaimed: "Oh, sir, if you can do anything for me----But I don't want to make you think----" She paused in evident confusion, and Farnham kindly interposed. "What I may think is not of any consequence just now. What is it you want, and how can I be of service to you?" "Oh, it is a long story, and I thought it was so easy to tell, and I find it isn't easy a bit. I want to do something--to help my parents--I mean they do not need any help--but they can't help me. I have tried lots of things." She was now stammering and blushing in a way that made her hate herself mortally, and the innocent man in front of her tenfold more, but she pushed on manfully and concluded, "I thought may be you could help me get something I would like." "What would you like?" "Most anything. I am a graduate of the high school. I write a good hand, but I don't like figures well enough to clerk. I hear there are plenty of good places in Washington." "I could do nothing for you if there were. But you are wrong: there are no good places in Washington, from the White House down." "Well, you are president of the Library Board, ain't you?" asked the high-school graduate. "I think I would like to be one of the librarians." "Why would you like that?"