by L. T. Meade
me, but Iwasn't going to answer. I felt too comfortable. You stayed with Nanand her nurse for a little, and then went away; and I heard Nan's nursesay to her: `Sit here, Missy, till I come back to you; I am going tofetch another reel of sewing cotton from the house. Sit still, Missy;I'll be back directly.' She went away, and Nan went on picking herdaisies. All on a sudden I heard Nan give a sharp little cry, and Ilooked over the hammock, and there was a tall dark woman, with such awicked face, and she snatched up Nan in her arms, and put a thick shawlover her face, and ran off with her. It was all done in an instant. Ishouted, and I scrambled out of the hammock, and I rushed down the path;but there wasn't a sign of anybody there. I don't know where the womanwent--it seemed as if the earth swallowed up both her and little Nan.Why, Hester, are you going to faint?"
"Water!" gasped Hester--"one sip--now let me go."
CHAPTER FORTY.
A GIPSY MAID.
In a few moments everyone in Lavender House was made acquainted withSusan's story. At such a time ceremony was laid aside, dinnerforgotten, teachers, pupils, servants all congregated in the grounds,all rushed to the spot where Nan's withered daisies still lay, allpeered through the underwood, and all, alas! looked, in vain for thetall dark woman and the little child. Little Nan, the baby of theschool, had been stolen--there were loud and terrified lamentations.Nan's nurse was almost tearing her hair, was rushing frantically here,there, and everywhere. No one blamed the nurse for leaving her littlecharge in apparent safety for a few moments, but the poor woman's owndistress was pitiable to see. Mrs Willis took Hester's hand, and toldthe poor stunned girl that she was sending to Sefton immediately for twoor three policemen, and that in the meantime every man on the placeshould commence the search for the woman and child.
"Without any doubt," Mrs Willis added, "we shall soon have our littleNan back again; it is quite impossible that the woman, whoever she is,can have taken her so far away in so short a time."
In the meantime, Annie in her bedroom heard the fuss and the noise. Sheleaned out of her window and saw Phyllis in the distance; she called toher. Phyllis ran up, the tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Oh, something so dreadful!" she gasped; "a wicked, wicked woman hasstolen little Nan Thornton. She ran off with her just where theundergrowth is so thick at the end of the shady walk. It happened toher half an hour ago, and they are all looking, but they cannot find thewoman or little Nan anywhere. Oh, it is so dreadful! Is that you,Mary?"
Phyllis ran off to join her sister, and Annie put her head in again, andlooked round her pretty room.
"The gipsy," she murmured, "the tall, dark gipsy has taken little Nan!"
Her face was very white, her eyes shone, her lips expressed a firm andalmost obstinate determination. With all her usual impulsiveness, shedecided on a course of action--she snatched up a piece of paper andscribbled a hasty line:
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"Dear Mother-friend,--However badly you think of Annie, Annie loves youwith all her heart. Forgive me, I must go myself to look for littleNan. That tall, dark woman is a gipsy--I have seen her before; her nameis Mother Rachel. Tell Hetty I won't return until I bring her littlesister back.--Your repentant and sorrowful Annie."
Annie twisted up the note, directed it to Mrs Willis, and left it onher dressing-table.
Then, with a wonderful amount of forethought for her, she emptied thecontents of a little purse into a tiny gingham bag, which she fastenedinside the front of her dress. She put on her shady hat, and threw ashawl across her arm, and then, slipping softly downstairs, she went outthrough the deserted kitchens, down the back avenue, and past thelaurel-bush, until she came to the stile which led into the wood--shewas going straight to the gipsies' encampment.
Annie, with some of the gipsy's characteristics in her own blood, hadalways taken an extraordinary interest in these queer wandering people.Gipsies had a fascination for her, she loved stories about them; if agipsy encampment was near, she always begged the teachers to walk inthat direction. Annie had a very vivid imagination, and in the dayswhen she reigned as favourite in the school she used to make up storiesfor the express benefit of her companions. These stories, as a rule,always turned upon the gipsies. Many and many a time had the girls ofLavender House almost gasped with horror as Annie described the queerways of these people. For her, personally, their wildness and theirfreedom had a certain fascination, and she was heard in her gayestmoments to remark that she would rather like to be stolen and adopted bya gipsy tribe.
Whenever Annie had an opportunity she chatted with the gipsy wives, andallowed them to tell her fortune, and listened eagerly to theirnarratives. When a little child she had once for several months beenunder the care of a nurse who was a reclaimed gipsy, and this girl hadgiven her all kinds of information about them. Annie often felt thatshe quite loved these wild people, and Mother Rachel was the first gipsyshe cordially shrank from and disliked.
When the little girl started now on her wild-goose chase after Nan shewas by no means devoid of a plan of action. The knowledge she had takenso many years to acquire came to her aid, and she determined to use itfor Nan's benefit. She knew that the gipsies, with all their wanderingand erratic habits, had a certain attachment, if not for homes, at leastfor sites; she knew that as a rule they encamped over and over again inthe same place; she knew that their wanderings were conducted withmethod, and their apparently lawless lives governed by strict self-maderules.
Annie made straight now for the encampment, which stood in a little dellat the other side of the fairies' field. Here for weeks past thegipsies' tents had been seen; here the gipsy children had played, andthe men and women smoked and lain about in the sun.
Anne entered the small field now, but uttered no exclamation of surprisewhen she found that all the tents, with the exception of one, had beenremoved, and that this tent also was being rapidly taken down by a manand a girl, while a tall boy stood by, holding a donkey by the bridle.
Annie wasted no time in looking for Nan here. Before the girl and theman could see her, she darted behind a bush, and removing her little bagof money, hid it carefully under some long grass; then she pulled a verybright yellow sash out of her pocket, tied it round her blue cottondress, and leaving her little shawl also on the ground, tripped gayly upto the tent.
She saw with pleasure that the girl who was helping the man was abouther own size. She went up and touched her on the shoulder.
"Look here," she said, "I want to make such a pretty play by-and-by--Iwant to play that I'm a gipsy girl. Will you give me your clothes, if Igive you mine? See, mine are neat, and this sash is very handsome.Will you have them? Do. I am so anxious to play at being a gipsy."
The girl turned and stared. Annie's pretty blue print and gay sash werecertainly tempting bait. She glanced at her father.
"The little lady wants to change," she said in an eager voice.
The man nodded acquiescence, and the girl taking Annie's hand, ranquickly with her to the bottom of the field.
"You don't mean it, surely?" she said. "Eh, but I'm uncommon willing."
"Yes, I certainly mean it," said Annie. "You are a dear, good, obliginggirl, and how nice you will look in my pretty blue cotton! I like thatstriped petticoat of yours, too, and that gay handkerchief you wearround your shoulders. Thank you so very much. Now, do I look like areal, real gipsy?"
"Your hair ain't ragged enough, miss."
"Oh, clip it, then; clip it away. I want to be quite the real thing.Have you got a pair of scissors?"
The girl ran back to the tent, and presently returned to shear poorAnnie's beautiful hair in truly rough fashion.
"Now, miss, you look much more like, only your arms are a bit too white.Stay, we has got some walnut-juice; we was just a-using of it. I'lltouch you up fine, miss."
So she did, darkening Annie's brown skin to a real gipsy tone.
"You're, a dear, good girl," said Annie
, in conclusion; and as thegirl's father called her roughly at this moment, she was obliged to goaway, looking ungainly enough in the English child's neat clothes.
CHAPTER FORTY ONE.
DISGUISED.
Annie ran out of the field, mounted the stile which led into the wood,and stood there until the gipsy man and girl, and the boy with thedonkey, had finally disappeared. Then she left her hiding-place, andtaking her little gingham bag out of the long grass, secured it oncemore in the front of her dress. She felt queer and uncomfortable in hernew dress, and the gipsy girl's heavy shoes tired her feet; but she wasnot to be turned from her purpose by any manner of discomforts, and shestarted bravely on her long trudge over the dusty roads, for her objectwas to follow the gipsies to their next encampment,