Mrs. Scatcherd’s speech reveals her stereotyped view of the poor and immigrant families of New York, while also giving the novel its title and offering the central motif of the book—the train carrying unwanted children from place to place. Caring for a baby is familiar and soothing to Niamh, and distracts her from her loneliness and fears. Though she wants to feel hopeful, just as she did when her family first immigrated, her disappointments and losses are beginning to teach her not to believe in promises. In this way, her wariness resembles Molly’s. Her thoughts about her parents’ isolation reflect her awareness that humans need each other and of how her isolation puts her at risk.