The Newcomer: Part 2

Image: Janet R. Stafford. This is as close as I can get to what the outbuilding described in Part 2 of The Newcomer looks like. The photo actually is of an outbuilding in Williamsburg, VA.

In Part 1, Eli Smith arrives in Blaineton, NJ on his way to New York City. He clearly is short of money and is looking for a way to earn enough money to get to his destination. But first up is to find a place to live. He finds an old, unoccupied building behind one of the houses that sits facing the town square. While attempting to break into it, he is interrupted by a little girl named Frankie who tells him that her mother has a boarding house and leads him to the house on Second Street that faces the Square.
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​Why is Maggie hesitant to show the building to Eli? What changes her mind? What is she hiding?

I'll have a continuation of The Newcomer next week.