Promise me that you will remain by my side until we reach our destination." She appeared kind of nervous and agitated, and I promised.

Instead of being protected, I found myself figuring in the _role_ of protector.
My timid companion did the most of the talking; she pumped me pretty dry of facts about myself, and confided to me that she was doing a good business--making eight hundred a year clear profit--and all she wanted to complete her satisfaction was the right kind of a partner.
She proposed to me to become that partner.

I said that I did not understand the millinery business; she said I had been a clerk in a dry-goods store, and that was the first step; I said I didn't think I should fancy the bonnet line.

She said I should be a _silent_ partner; all in the world I'd have to do would be to post the books, and she'd warrant me a thousand dollars a year, for the business would double.

I said I had but one hundred and thirty dollars; she said, write to my pa for more, but she'd take me without a cent--there was something in my face that showed her I was to be trusted.
She was so persistent that I began to be alarmed--I felt that I should be drawn into that woman's clutches against my will.