Edwarda asked
her: 'Don't you feel cold?' Yes, she did. 'And the little one too?' Yes,
the little one was cold as well. 'Why don't you go into the cabin?' asks
Edwarda. 'I've only a steerage ticket,' says the woman. Edwarda looks at
me. 'The woman here has only a steerage ticket,' she says. 'Well, and
what then?' I say to myself. But I understand her look. I'm not a rich
man; what I have I've worked to earn, and I think twice before I spend
it; so I move away. If Edwarda wants someone to pay for the woman, let
her do it herself; she and her father can better afford it than I. And
sure enough, Edwarda paid. She's splendid in that way--no one can say
she hasn't a heart. But as true as I'm sitting here she expected me to
pay for a saloon passage for the woman and child; I could see it in her
eyes. And what then, do you think? The woman gets up and thanks her for
her kindness. 'Don't thank me--it was that gentleman there,' says
Edwarda, pointing to me as calmly as could be. What do you think of
that? The woman thanks me too; and what can I say? Simply had to leave
it as it was. That's just one thing about her. But I could tell you many
more. And as for the five _daler_ to the boatman--she gave him the money
herself. If you had done it, she would have flung her arms round you and
kissed you on the spot.
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