I was reckless; what happened to me mattered little, as long as I had not to face hard work.

I needed rest.

For one in my position there was, I saw well enough, only one way of getting it.

I took that way." Ida had told this in a straightforward, unhesitating manner, not meeting her companion's gaze, yet not turning away.

One would have said that judgments upon her story were indifferent to her; she simply related past events.