The Beggar Man

She was small and slight, with timid, brown eyes and soft, fair hair and a certain daintiness of person that singled her out for attention in spite of the shabbiness of her clothes. The first morning she put in an appearance at the factory the other girls marked her down as being a little different from themselves; a little less rough and capable of looking after her own interests, a little more refined, and ready to shrink from jest and laughter. They crowded round her to stare with interest, in which there was mingled a faint suspicion. A volley of questions greeted her from all sides. "What's your name?" "Where do you come from?" "Who took you on?"