She stopped a moment for breath, and the smile came back--a wistfully pleading smile. "I am afraid that last was not in the report. What I want to say is--please keep the incurable ward; take the time to really know them--and love them a little. If you only could you would never consider sending them away for a moment. And if, in addition to the splendid care you have given their bodies, you would only help to keep their minds and hearts sound and sweet, and shield them against curious visitors, why--why--some of them might turn out to be 'a case in a thousand.' Don't you see--can't you see--that they have as much right to their scraps of life and happiness--as your children have to their complete lives, and that there is no place for them anywhere if Saint Margaret's closes her doors?" With an overwhelming suddenness she became conscious of the attitude of the trustees. She, who was nothing but a foundling and a charity patient herself, had dared to pass judgment on them; it was inconceivable--it was impertinent--it was beyond all precedent. Only the gray wisp of a woman sat silent, seeming to express nothing. Margaret MacLean's cheeks flamed; she shrank into herself, her whole being acutely alive to their thoughts. The scared little-girl look came into her face. "Perhaps--perhaps," she stammered, pitifully, "after what I have said you would rather I did not stay on--in charge of Ward C?" The Dominating Trustee rose abruptly. "Mr. President, I suggest that we act upon Miss MacLean's resignation at once." "I second the motion," came in a quick bark from the Meanest Trustee, while the Oldest Trustee could be heard quoting, "Sharper than a serpent's tooth--" The Executive Trustee rose, looking past Margaret MacLean as he spoke. "In view of the fact that we shall possibly discontinue the incurable ward, and that Miss MacLean seems wholly unsatisfied with our methods and supervision here, I motion that her resignation be accepted now, and that she shall be free to leave Saint Margaret's when her month shall have expired," "I second the motion," came from the Social Trustee, while she added to the Calculating, who happened to be sitting next: "So ill-bred. It just shows that a person can never be educated above her station in life." The President rose. "The motion has been made and seconded. Will you please signify by raising your hands if it is your wish that Miss MacLean's resignation be accepted at once?" Hand after hand went up. Only the little gray wisp of a woman in the chair by the door sat with her hands still folded on her lap. "It is, so to speak, a unanimous vote." There was a strong hint of approval in the President's voice. He was a good man; but he belonged to that sect which holds as one of the main articles of its faith, "I believe in the infallibility of the rich." "Can any one tell me when Miss MacLean's time expires?"