“Polly，areyouafraidofdiphtheria？”
“OfnothingintheworldexceptsmallpoxDiphtheriakills，butitdoesn’tdisfigureWhydoyouask？”
“Becauseth~Bentbabyhasgotit，andthewholehotelisupsidedowninconsequenceTheWaddyhas’setherfiveyoungontherail’andfledTheDancingMasterfearsforhispreciousthroat，andthatmiserablelittlewoman，hiswife，hasnonotionofwhatoughttobedoneShewantedtoputitintoamustardbath-forcroup！”
“Wheredidyoulearnallthis？”
“Justnow，ontheMallDrHowlentoldmeTheManagerofthehotelisabusingtheBents，andtheBentsareabusingthemanagerTheyareafecklesscouple。”
“WellWhat’sonyourmind？”
“This；andIknowit’sagravethingtoaskWouldyouseriouslyobjecttomybringingthechildoverhere，withitsmother？”
“OnthemoststrictunderstandingthatweseenothingofTheDancingMaster。”
“HewillbeonlytoogladtostayawayPolly，you’reanangelThewomanreallyisatherwits’
end。”
“Andyouknownothingabouthercareless，andwouldholdheruptopublicscornifitgaveyouaminute’samusementThereforeyouriskyourlifeforthesakeofherbratNo，LooI’mnottheangelIshallkeeptomyroomsandavoidherButdoasyoupleas~onlytellmewhyyoudoit。”
MrsHauksbee’seyessoftened；shelookedoutofthewindowandbackintoMrsMallowe’sface。
“Idon’tknow。”saidMrsHauksbee，simply。
“Youdear！”
“Polly！-andforaughtyouknewyoumighthavetakenmyfringeoffNeverdothatagainwithoutwarningNowwe’llgettheroomsreadyIdon’tsupposeIshallbeallowedtocirculateinsocietyforamonth。”
“AndIalsoThankgoodnessIshallatlastgetallthesleepIwant。”
MuchtoMrsBent’ssurprisesheandthebabywerebroughtovertothehousealmostbeforesheknewwhereshewasBentwasdevoutlyandundisguisedlythankful，forhewasafraidoftheinfection，andalsohopedthatafewweeksinthehotelalonewithMrsDelvillemightleadtoexplanationsMrsBenthadthrownherjealousytothewindsinherfearforherchild’slife。
“Wecangiveyougoodmilk。”sai~MrsHauksbeetoher，“andourhouseismuchnearertotheDoctor’sthanth，’hotel，andyouwon’tfeelasthoughyouwerelivinginahostilecampWhereisthedearMrsWaddy？Sh~
ASECOND-RATEWOMAN
22~
seemedtobeaparticularfriendofyours。”
“They’veallleftme。”saidMrsBent，bitterly“MrsWaddywentfirstShesaidIoughttobeashamedofmyselfforintroducingdiseasesthere，andIamsureitwasn’tmyfaultthatlittleDora“-“Hownice！”cooedMrsHauksbee。
“TheWaddyisaninfectiousdiseaseherself-’morequicklycaughtthantheplagueandthetakerrunspresentlymad。’IlivednextdoortoherattheElysium，threeyearsagoNowsee，youwon’tgiveustheleasttrouble，andI’veornamentedallthehousewithsheetssoakedincarbolicItsmellscomforting，doesn’tit？RememberI’malwaysmcall，andmyayah’satyourservicewhenyoursgoestohermealsand-and-ifyoucryI’llneverforgiveyou。”
DoraBentoccupiedhermother’sunprofitableattentionthroughthedayandthenightTheDoctorcalledthriceinthetwenty-fourhours，andthehousereekedwiththesmelloftheCondy’sFluid，chlorine-water，andcarbolicacidwashesMrsMallowekepttoherownrooms-sheconsideredthatshehadmadesufficientconcessionsinthecauseofhumanity-andMrs。
HauksbeewasmoreesteemedbytheDoctorasahelpinthesick-roomthanthehalf-distraughtmother。
“Iknownothingofillness。”saidMrsHauksbeetotheDoctor。
“Onlytellmewhattodo，andI’lldoit。”
“Keepthatcrazywomanfromkissingthechild，andletherhaveaslittletodowiththenursingasyoupossiblycan。”saidtheDoctor；“I’dturnheroutofthesick-room，butthatIhonestlybeli...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：