As for making the hotel pay, that idea had been given up long ago.

It was against Mrs.Connellan's instincts of hospitality to charge anyone for a meal or a bed, and when any great rush of bar trade took place it generally turned out to be "Connellan's shout," so the hotel was not exactly a goldmine.

In fact, Mrs.Connellan had decided that the less business she did, the more money she would make; and she rather preferred that people should not stop at her hotel.

This girl looked as if she would give trouble; might even expect clean beds and clean sheets when there were none within the hotel, and might object to fleas, of which there were plenty.

So the landlady pulled herself together, and decided to speed the parting guest as speedily as possible.
"Mr.Gordon couldn't git in," she said.