Linda, as Mary's nurse, goes to Albany with Mr. and Mrs. Bruce aboard a steamboat. While on board, she is insulted by a black waiter who refuses to serve her. Upon returning to New York, Linda goes to Brooklyn to visit Ellen, whom she meets on her way to the grocery store. Ellen warns her not to go to Mrs. Hobbs' house, because Mrs. Hobbs' brother, Mr. Thorpe, is visiting from the South. Linda heeds her warning and tells Ellen that she will see her when she returns from her impending trip to Rockaway with the Bruce family.
Linda then recounts her experiences in a hotel in Rockaway, where she is refused the right to sit at the dining table with other, lighter-skinned black nurses, who shun her. At first, she relents and takes her meals in her room, but later, she refuses to accept their behavior and gradually wins their grudging respect.
