Open [35.2 MB]

132 THE WHITE SLAVE MARKET
Some of the girls ran away, and others kept
close to each other. At last one pert little
puss stepped forward and '
said, This is
Fraulein V. Are you the fairy prince going to
'
carry her off ? We all laughed at the silly
girl, but the stranger said, '
To-morrow will
be your birthday. You will be twenty years
old. I present you with this bouquet with
every good wish for your future and happiness.'
"I was paralysed. My hands refused to
take the gift, my brain was in a whirl ; I
trembled and stood still. The girls pushed
me forward : one took the flowers, others
thanked the stranger, others laughed and
chaffed. The stranger bade us be silent and
not talk of him, as that would spoil any
chance of good fortune reaching us. With
downcast eyes I walked on. Once out of
sight of the stranger we found our tongues.
'That was indeed a knight-errant/ one girl
declared; 'an ambassador from somewhere,
and they know you; you have been chosen
out of all.' " Madame laughed through her
"
tears. One girl I have forgotten her name
now, although I remember her face: a fat,
good-natured, child-like face made me promise
that if I became a very great lady I
would not allow my servants to worship me,
as it was not pious.
"When I returned home I could not eat
my supper. The man who had come into my
life disturbed my thoughts, and it was only
when daylight peeped through the window