The day was fading into twilight. The sun had set, and with it the wind had fallen; the air had become still, and the stars shone brightly from above. "If I don't get out of this place for an hour, I will surely die," cried Mildred, walking the floor in a fit of impatience. Having become accustomed to plenty of exercise, the days that had come and gone since Xmas day had seemed like an eternity. Perhaps it was hard for her, because she had not been further than the restaurant since that day. She admitted to herself that she was afraid to go anywhere now. She had not the courage to run the risk of being seen again, and had, therefore, remained confined to her room. She paused before the window, and looked long and earnestly into the street. Never before had anything seemed so inviting. She was simply mad to be in it, if for only a half hour; but to be in it, she felt she must. After a time, she resolved to run the risk. She fixed herself as best she could, and shuddered when she realized that she had not changed her clothes for a week. At last, with a suppression of her excited nerves, she slipped out of the house, and entered the street just as darkness had set in, and the stars were the brightest. She hurried along, and when she had arrived at the end of the street, she turned into another, and in a direction she had not been before. Along this she hurried, feeling the sting of the air, which brought the blood to her cheeks, and made her feel real life, after many days of fear and worry. She had been downtown one day before Xmas, where she dispatched a telegram, and now, as she hurried along, it occurred to her to go to the office again. She walked boldly in that direction, and a moment after she had entered, she came out with a satisfied smile playing about the corners of her mouth. "Now," she whispered softly, "where shall I go?" Without answering her own question, she began walking. She walked until she had exercised her limbs, and they were tired. So she felt like sitting down and resting. Still she continued the way she was going until, in turning a corner, she ran fully into someone and fell back with: "I beg your pardon!" And then suddenly the other fell back. "Why, Miss Latham!" the other exclaimed, amazed. "Miss Jones, I declare!" echoed the other, and stood abashed. "I have not seen or heard of you for months. Indeed, I thought you left town long since!" "No-o," Mildred mumbled, frightened and embarrassed, all in one. "And--what--what are you doing--in _this_ part of town!" the other exclaimed, now regarding her suspiciously. "_This_ part of town?" she echoed bewilderingly. "I--I--don't understand. _Why_ this part of town?" "Yes, _this_ part of town." She paused a moment and surveyed Mildred in wonder, and then went on: "Why, didn't you know? _This_ part of town--is the _restricted district_!" "Oh--Miss Jones!" she wailed. "Heaven help me! I didn't know!"