by L. T. Meade
received back eight and sixpencechange, which she thought great riches, slipped the money into herpurse, put the purse into her pocket, and went on the platform. The mandirected her which way to go to catch the Souchester train. Shefollowed the girl who had first put the idea into her mind. This girllooked of the servant class. She was respectably dressed, she carried aparcel wrapped up in brown paper. Nesta felt that between her and thatgirl there was a sort of link; she could not quite account for it, butshe was anxious not to lose sight of her.
"Souchester," said the man who stood on the platform, taking Nesta'sticket and examining it, "there you are, Miss, right ahead, that train,_that_ train, Miss, it's just starting, you be quick if you want tocatch it." Nesta hurried. The girl with the brown paper parcel gotinto a third-class carriage, Nesta followed her, and a minute later thetrain was in motion. At first it went slowly, then quickly, and soonthe gay town of Scarborough was out of sight, and they were goingrapidly between fields full of waving corn, with the blue sea stillclose at hand.
It so happened that Nesta and the girl with the brown paper parcel werethe only two in this special compartment. Nesta looked at hercompanion; she did not exchange a single word with her, butnevertheless, she was for the time being her guiding star. The girl wasessentially commonplace; she was stout, very dumpy in figure, she had alarge, full-moon face, small eyes, a wide mouth, and high cheek bones.She wore no gloves, and her hands were coarse and red. Presently shepulled a coarse sandwich, made of two hunches of bread with a piece ofbacon in the middle, from her brown paper parcel, and began to eat itdeliberately. When she had eaten half, she looked at Nesta. Thentaking a knife out of her pocket, she cut a piece from her sandwich andoffered it awkwardly, and yet with a good-natured smile, to her fellowtraveller. Nesta thanked her, and said she was not hungry.
This incident, however, opened the ball, and Nesta was able to ask whatsort of place Souchester was.
"Oh, just a country place," said the girl. "Be yer going there, Miss?"
"I'm a poor girl just like yourself," said Nesta. She became suddenlyinterested. If this was not a real adventure, a real proper runningaway, she did not know what was.
"I am a poor girl like you," repeated Nesta, "and I am going toSouchester."
"Now I wonder what for?" said the girl. "My name is Mary Hogg. I'm ina place--it's a big house, and I'm under kitchenmaid. I have had aweek's holiday to see my aunt, who lives in a poor part of Scarborough,not where the rich folks live. I've had a jolly week and now I'm goingback to my place. There are very few poor at Souchester, it's just alittle bit of a village, and it's owned by the St Just family."
Nesta suddenly felt she had been entrapped once more. "What St Justs?"she asked.
"Why, the St Justs," answered the girl. "Miss Angela's folks. Youmust have heard of Miss Angela St Just."
"Yes," said Nesta, then she added petulantly--"They seem to beeverywhere."
"Oh, no, they ain't," said Mary Hogg. "Sir Edward and his daughter,they've had what you call reverses, but the rest of the family is rich,very rich. They owns Hurst Castle, and my place. I belong to 'em, soto speak. I'm at Castle Walworth. I'm under kitchenmaid. They keep apower of servants; you can scarce count 'em on your fingers."
Nesta was interested.
"Have you very hard work to do?" she asked.
"Oh, no; nothing to speak of, and I gets rare good living, and no end ofpickings, too, which I takes to my mother, whenever I has time to go andsee her. She lives in a bit of a cottage just outside of the village.She's very poor, indeed, is mother. She's a widdy. Father died fiveyears ago, and left her with me and two boys. The boys is still atschool. The St Just family is very good to mother, and it was throughMiss Angela asking, that I got a place as kitchenmaid at the Castle.I'm proud of my place."
"You must be," said Nesta.
"It's real respectable," said the girl. "You can't be like ordinaryservants; you mustn't consider yourself an ordinary servant there. Justthink of me--a bit of a girl like me--I ain't seventeen yet--having towear a little tight bonnet with strings fastened under my chin, and aregular livery. Grey, it is, with red pipings. That's the livery theservants at Castle Walworth wear. The bonnets are black, with a bit ofred just bordering them inside. We look very nice when we go to church,all in our livery. But when I goes to see mother, then I can wear justwhat I like, and when I'm with my aunt--oh, my word, I did have a goodtime at Scarborough--but here we be, Miss, here we be. I'll wish yougood-day, Miss."
The train stopped and the two girls alighted on the platform. Nestawalked hurriedly by her companion's side. The girl with the brown paperparcel did not seem to want anything more to do with her. The ticketswere taken by the ticket collector, and then they found themselves sideby side in a narrow road, a road branching off to right and left. Itwas a winding road, quite pretty and very countrified indeed. If therewas a village, there seemed to be no trace of one.
"Where's the village?" asked Nesta, doing her best to detain the soleperson in all the world whom she thought she had a right to speak to.
"Why, there--down in the valley, nestling among all them trees," saidMary Hogg. "This is my way," she added, "straight up this steep hill,and there's the Castle, and the flag is flying; that shows the familyare at home. They'll be waiting for me. If Mrs Gaskell, that's ourhousekeeper, finds I'm five minutes late, why she'll blow my nose off."
"How awful!" said Nesta.
"Oh, she ain't really so bad; she's quite a kind sort; but the family isat home, and I'm due back now, so I'll wish you good-evening, Miss."
"Stay one minute, just one minute."
"I can't really, Miss; I must hurry; time's up, and time's everything atCastle Walworth. We, none of us, dare be one minute late, not oneblessed minute. There's the family has their pleasure, and they musthave time for that, and we servants, we has our work, and we must havetime for that. That's the way of the world, Miss. I can't stay totalk, really, Miss."
"Then I'll walk with you," said Nesta.
"It's a steep hill, Miss, and if you've come to see your friends--"
"That's just what I haven't--I have come to--Oh, Mary Hogg, I mustconfide in you. I have come here because I want to--to hide for alittle."
"My word! To hide!" said Mary Hogg. She really quite interested atlast. She forgot the awful Mrs Gaskell and all the terrors thatpunctuality caused in the St Just establishment. Her eyes became roundas the letter "O," and her mouth formed itself into much the same shape.
"You be a bad 'un!" she said. "So you've run away?"
"Yes, I have. I haven't time to tell you my story, but I want to stayat Souchester just for a little! you must help me, for I wouldn't havecome to Souchester but for you."
"There now; didn't I say you were bad? What in the name of wonder haveI to do with it?"
"I was going in quite another direction, and I heard you ask for aticket to Souchester, and I thought I'd come too, and I got into thesame carriage with you because I thought you looked kind and--andrespectable. I've got some money," continued Nesta, speaking withsudden dignity. "I'm not a beggar, but I want to go to a very cheapplace just to spend the night. Do you know of any place? It won't doyou any harm to tell me if there's anybody in the village who would giveme a bed."
"But, do you mean a very, very cheap place?" asked Mary Hogg, whothought on the spot that she might do a good deal for her mother. MrsHogg was so poor that she was glad even of stray sixpences and pence.
"I don't mind how poor it is, if it is only cheap; that is what I want--something very cheap."
"There's mother's house. Would you mind going there?"
"Of course I wouldn't. Where is it?"
"I must be quick; I really must. You had better come a little way upthe hill with me, and I'll tell you. It's rather steep, but there, I'llgo a little slower. I'll tell Mrs Gaskell that I met a fellow creaturein distress. She's a very Christian woman, is Mrs Gaskell, and that,perhaps, will make her more
inclined to be lenient with me. I'll tellher that."
"But you won't tell her my name, will you?"
"In course not, seeing as I don't know it."
"That's true," said Nesta, with a relieved laugh.
"And I don't want to," said Mary Hogg.
"Better not," said Nesta.
"Well,