第3章
Foramomentneitherspoke，thenGypsyNanbrokethesilencewithabitterlaugh。Shethrewbackthebedclothes，and，grippingattheedgeofthebed，satup。
“TheWhiteMoll！Thewordsrattledinherthroat。Afleckofbloodshowedonherlips。“Well，youknownow！You’regoingtohelpme，aren’tyou？I-I’vegottogetoutofhere-gettoahospital。“
RhodaGraylaidherhandsfirmlyontheother’sshoulders。
“Getbackintobed，“shesaidsteadily。“Doyouwanttomakeyourselfworse？You’llkillyourself！“
GypsyNanpushedheraway。
“Don’tmakemeuseupwhatlittlestrengthI’vegotleftintalking，“
shecriedoutpiteously，andsuddenlywrungherhandstogether。
“I’mwantedbythepolice。IfI’mcaught，it’s-it’sthat’chair。’
Icouldn’thaveadoctorbroughthere，couldI？HowlongwoulditbebeforehesawthatGypsyNanwasafake？Ican’tletyougoandhaveanambulance，say，comeandgetme，canI，evenwiththedisguisehiddenaway？They’dsaythisiswhereGypsyNanlives。
There’ssomethingqueerhere。WhereisGypsyNan？I’vegottogetawayfromhere-awayfromGypsyNan-don’tyouunderstand？It’sdeathoneway；maybeitistheother，maybeit’llfinishmetogetoutofhere，butit’stheonlythinglefttodo。Ithoughtsomeone，someonethatIcouldtrust，nevermindwho，wouldhavecometo-day，but-butnoonecame，and-andmaybenowitstoolate，butthere’sjusttheonechance，andI’vegottotakeit。“GypsyNantoreattheshawlaroundherthroatasthoughitchokedher，andflungitfromhershoulders。Hereyesweregleamingwithanunhealthy，feverishlight。“Don’tyousee？Wegetoutonthestreet。Icollapsethere。Youfindme。ItellyoumynameisCharlotteGreen。That’sallyouknow。Thereisn’tmuchchancethatanybodyatthehospitalwouldrecognizeme。I’vegotmoney。
Itakeaprivateroom。Don’tyouunderstand？“
RhodaGray’sfacehadgonealittlewhite。Therewasnodoubtaboutthewoman’sseriouscondition，andyet-andyet-Shestoodtherehesitant。Theremustbesomeotherway！Itwasnotlikelyeventhatthewomanhadstrengthenoughtowalkdownthestairstobeginwith。Strangethingshadcometoherinthisworldofshadow，butnonebeforelikethis。Ifthelawgotthewomanitwouldcostthewomanherlife；ifthewomandidnotreceiveimmediateandadequatemedicalassistanceitwouldcostthewomanherlife。Overandoverinherbrain，likeajanglingrefrain，thatthoughtrepeateditself。
Itwasnotlikehertostandhesitantbeforeanyemergency，nomatterwhatthatemergencymightbe。Shehadneverdoneitbefore，butnow……
“ForGod’ssake，“GypsyNanimplored，“don’tstandtherelookingatme！Can’tyouunderstand？IfI’mcaught，Igoout。DoyouthinkI’dhavelivedinthisfilthyholeiftherehadbeenanyotherwaytosavemylife？Areyougoingtoletmedieherelikeadog？Getmemyclothes；oh，forGod’ssake，getthem，andgivemetheonechancethat’sleft！“
AqueerlittlesmilecametoRhodaGray’slips，andhershouldersstraightenedback。
“Whereareyourclothes？“sheasked。
“Godblessyou！“Thetearsweresuddenlystreamingdownthegrimyface。“GodblesstheWhiteMoll！It’strue！It’strue-alltheysaidabouther！“Thewomanhadlostcontrolofherself。
“Nan，keepyournerve！“orderedRhodaGrayalmostbrutally。ItwastheWhiteMollinanotherlightnow，cool，calm，collected，efficient。HereyessweptGypsyNan。Thewoman，whohadobviouslyflungherselfdownonthebedfullydressedthenightbefore，wasgarbedincoarse，heavyboots，thecheapestofstockingswhichwerealsosadlyinneedofrepair，atatteredandcrumpledskirtofsomeroughmaterial，and，previouslyhiddenbytheshawl，asoiled，greasyandspottedblackblouse。RhodaGray’sforeheadpuckeredintoafrown。“Whataboutyourhandsandface-theygowiththeclothes，don’tthey？“
“It’llwashoff，“whisperedGypsyNan。“It’sjustsomestuffIkeepinabox-overthere-theceiling-“Hervoicetrailedoffweakly，thenwithadesperateeffortstrengthenedagain。“Thedoor！I
forgotthedoor！Itisn’tlocked！Lockthedoorfirst！Lockthedoor！Thenyoutakethecandleoverthereonthewashstand，and-andI’llshowyou。You-yougetthethingswhileI’mundressing。
I-Icanhelpmyselfthatmuch。“
RhodaGraycrossedquicklytothedoor，turnedthekeyinthelock，andretracedherstepstothewashstandthatstoodintheshadowsagainstthewallontheoppositesidefromthebed，andnearthefarendofthegarret。Hereshefoundtheshortstubofacandlethatwasstuckinthemouthofaginbottle，andmatcheslyingbesideit。
Shelightedthecandle，andturnedinquiringlytoGypsyNan。
Thewomanpointedtotheendofthegarretwheretheroofslopedsharplydownuntil，atthewallitself，itwasscarcelyfourfeetabovethefloor。
“Godownthere。Righttothewall-inthecenter，“instructedGypsyNanweakly。Andthen，asRhodaGrayobeyed:“Nowpushuponthatwideboardintheceiling。“
RhodaGray。alreadyinastoopedposition，reachedup，andpushedatarough，unplanedboard。Itswungbackwithoutasound，likeanarrowtrap-door，untilitrestedinanuprightpositionagainsttheouterframeofthehouse，disclosinganaperturethroughwhich，bystandingerect，RhodaGrayeasilythrustherheadandshoulders。
Sheraisedthecandlethenthroughtheopening-andsuddenlyherdarkeyeswidenedinamazement。Itwasahidingplace，notonlyingenious，butexceedinglygenerousinexpanse。Asfarasonecouldreachtheceilingmetamorphoseditselfintoamostconvenientshelf。Andithadbeenwellutilized！Itheldamostastoundingcollectionofthings。Therewasacashbox，butthecashboxwasapparentlywhollyinadequate-theremusthavebeenthousandsofdollarsinthosepilesofbanknotesthatwerestackedbesideit！
Therewasalargetinbox，thecoveroff，containingsomeblack，pastelikesubstance-the“stuff，“presumably，thatGypsyNanusedonherfaceandhands。Therewasabunchofcuriouslyformedkeys，severalboxesofrevolvercartridges，anelectricflashlight，andagreatquantityofthechoicestbrandsoftinnedandbottledfruitsandprovisions-andalittletooneside，evidentlykeptreadyforinstantuse，asuitofexcellentmaterial，underclothing，silkstockingsshoesandhatwereneatlypiledtogether。
RhodaGraytooktheclothing，andwentbacktothebedside。GypsyNanhadmadelittleprogressindisrobing。Itseemedaboutallthewomancoulddotoclingtotheedgeofthecotandsitupright。
“Whatdoesallthismean，Nan，“sheaskedtensely；“allthosethingsupthere-thatmoney？“
GypsyNanforcedatwistedsmile。
“ItmeansIknowhowbadIam，orIwouldn’thaveletyouseewhatyouhave，“sheansweredheavily。“Itmeansthatthereisn’tanyotherway。Hurry！Getthesethingsoff！Getmedressed！“
Butittookalongtime。GypsyNanseemedwitheverymomenttogrowweaker。Thelamponthechairwentoutforwantofoil。Therewasonlythegutteringcandleintheginbottletogivelight。Itthrewweird，flickeringshadowsaroundthegarret；itseemedtoenhancethealreadydeathlikepallorofthewoman，as，usingthepitcherofwaterandthebasinfromthewashstandnow，RhodaGrayremovedthegrimefromGypsyNan’sfaceandhands。
Itwasdoneatlast-andwheretherehadoncebeenGypsyNan，haglikeandrepulsive，therewasnowastylishly，evenelegantly，dressedwomanofwellundermiddleage。ThetransformationseemedtohaveactedasastimulantuponGypsyNan。Shelaughedwithnervoushilaritysheeventriedvaliantlytoputonapairofnewblackkidgloves，but，failinginthis，pushedthemunsteadilyintothepocketofhercoat。
“I’m-I’mallright，“sheassertedfiercely，asRhodaGray，pausingintheactofgatheringupthediscardedgarments，regardedheranxiously。“Bringmeapackageofthatmoneyafteryou’veputthosethingsaway-yes，andyou’llfindaflashlightthere。We’llneeditgoingdownthestairs。“
RhodaGraymadenoanswer。Therewasnohesitationnowinheractions，as，tothepileofclothinginherarms，sheaddedtherevolverthatlayontheblanket，and，returningtothelittletrap-doorintheceiling，hidthemaway；butherbrainwaswhirlingagaininaturmoilofdoubt。Thiswasmadness，utter，stark，blindmadness，thisthingthatshewasdoing！Itwassuicide，literallythat，nothinglessthansuicideforoneinGypsyNan’sconditiontoattemptthisthing。Butthewomanwouldcertainlydiehere，too，withoutmedicalassistance-onlytherewasthepolice！RhodaGray’sface，asshestooduprightinthelittleapertureagain，throwingthewaveringcandle-raysaroundher，seemedsuddenlytohavegrownpinchedandwan。Thepolice！Thepolice！Itwasherconscience，then，thatwasgnawingather-becauseofthepolice！
Wasthatit？Well，therewasalso，then，anotherside。Couldsheturninformer，traitor，becomeafemaleJudastoadyingwoman，whohadsobbedandthankedherMakerbecauseshehadfoundsomeonewhomshebelievedshecouldtrust？Thatwasahideousandanabominablethingtodo！“Yousworeit！Yousworeyou’dseemethrough！“-thewordscameandranginsistentlyinherears。Thesweet，piquantlittlefacesetinhard，determinedlines。Mechanicallyshepickeduptheflashlightandapackageofthebanknotes，loweredtheboardintheceilingintoplace，andreturnedtoGypsyNan。
“I’mready，ifthereisnootherway，“shesaidsoberly，asshewatchedtheothertuckthemoneyawayinsideherwaist。“IsaidI
wouldseeyouthrough，andIwill。ButIdoubtifyouarestrongenough，evenwithwhathelpIcangiveyou，togetdownthestairs，andevenifyoucan，Iamafraidwithallmysouloftheconsequencestoyou，and-“
GypsyNanblewoutthecandle，andstaggeredtoherfeet。
“Thereisn’tanyotherway。“SheleanedheavilyonRhodaGray’sarm。“Can’tyouseethat？Don’tyouthinkIknow？Haven’tyouseenenoughheretoconvinceyouofthat？I-I’mjustspillingthedicefor-forperhapsthelasttime-butit’stheonlychance-theonlychance。Goon！“sheurgedtremulously。“Shoottheglim，andgetmetothedoor。And-andfortheloveofGod，don’tmakeasound！It’sallupifwe’reseengoingout！“
Theflashlight’sraydancedincrazygyrationsasthetwofiguresswayedandcreptacrossthegarret。RhodaGrayunlockedthedoor，and，astheypassedout，lockeditagainontheoutside。
“Hidethekey！“whisperedGypsyNan。“See-thatcrackinthefloorunderthepartition！Slipitinthere！“
Theflashlightguidingher，RhodaGraystoopeddowntowhere，betweentheroughatticflooringandtheequallyroughboardingofthegarretpartition，therewasanarrowspace。Shepushedthekeyinoutofsight；andthen，withherarmaroundGypsyNan’swaist，andwiththeflashlightatcautiousintervalswinkingaheadofherthroughthedarkness，shebegantodescendthestairs。