He knew that there was, in some instances, more endurance in persons of her physique than in those more robust, and that they frequently made better nurses. He was greatly prepossessed by the quiet, self-contained manner of the girl, and a certain reserve force which had made itself apparent from the moment when she had first spoken, and he felt inclined to give her a trial. “We are in great need of nurses at present,” he said at length, “and I think I will take you on probation, as the Methodists say—that is, if you can come and begin your duties immediately.” “I can come at once—I can remain now if you like, since I am entirely at liberty, and I can send for my trunk by an express messenger,” she answered with an undercurrent of eagerness that was somewhat at variance with her previous calmness and self-possession. “Very well. I would like you to remain. Is your home—are your friends in this city?” “No, sir,” was the brief reply. Again the man glanced sharply at her. A certain sadness that seemed to pervade her, together with the quiet dignity and self-possession of her bearing, somehow moved him strangely, while it was evident from the brevity of her last reply that she intended to guard her previous history from all inquisitiveness. “Your name, if you please?” he asked, seating himself at his desk, and opening a book that lay upon it, although his eyes never left the applicant’s fair face. Again a slight flush leaped to her cheek at this question, and she hesitated an instant before replying; then she said, quietly: “Salome Howland.” The superintendent wrote the name, together with her age in his register, though a queer little smile played over his lips the while; then, with his pen suspended over the next line, he continued: “Your birthplace, if you please, and present place of residence?” “I was born upon the Atlantic Ocean. My present place of residence is—Boston,” she answered, without changing a muscle of her countenance. Clearly she intended to keep her identity in as much obscurity as possible. Again that peculiar smile curved her companion’s lips, and it was with no little eagerness and curiosity that he put his next question, for he was becoming deeply interested in this fair stranger. “You, of course, have the necessary references?” he observed, in a matter-of-fact tone. “All nurses who are admitted here are required to be well recommended.” A flash of color leaped to her brow, and he could see that her delicate under lip quivered painfully, while there was a moment of ominous silence. Then she turned and confronted him squarely, and lifted her beautiful face appealingly to him, meeting his glance with her great black eyes frankly and unflinchingly.