time."
She bade Robin an affectionate good-by, telling him that he was thedearest little fellow in the world, and that she could never forgethim. He followed her with big, wistful eyes as she passed out, butsmiled happily when she turned at the door to look back and kiss herhand to him.
At the next station, where they stopped for a few minutes, he watchedfor her anxiously. Just as the train began to pull out he caught aglimpse of her. There was a flutter of a white handkerchief and abundle came flying in through the window.
He looked out quickly, just in time to see her stepping into acarriage. Then a long line of freight cars obstructed the view. By thetime they had passed them they were beyond even the stragglingoutskirts of the village, with wide cornfields stretching in everydirection, and it was of no use to look for her any longer.
Mrs. Estel lost no time in making the young English girl'sacquaintance. She was scarcely settled in her seat before she found anopportunity. Her umbrella slipped from the rack, and the girl sprangforward to replace it.
"You have had a tiresome journey," Mrs. Estel remarked pleasantlyafter thanking her.
"Yes, indeed, ma'am!" answered the girl, glad of some one to talk toinstead of the children, whose remarks were strictly of aninterrogative nature. It was an easy matter to draw her intoconversation, and in a short time Mrs. Estel was listening to littlescraps of history that made her eyes dim and her heart ache.
"Do you mind telling me your name?" she asked at length.
"Ellen, ma'am."
"But the other," continued Mrs. Estel.
"We're not to tell, ma'am." Then seeing the look of inquiry on herface, explained, "Sometimes strangers make trouble, hasking thelittle ones hall sorts hof questions; so we've been told not to saywhere we're going, nor hany think helse."
"I understand," answered Mrs. Estel quickly. "I ask only because I amso much interested. I have a little girl at home that I have been awayfrom for a week, but she has a father and a grandmother and a nurse totake care of her while I am gone. It makes me feel so sorry for thesepoor little things turned out in the world alone."
"Bless you, ma'am!" exclaimed Ellen cheerfully. "The 'omes they'regoing to be a sight better than the 'omes they've left behind. Naowthere's 'Enery; 'is mother died hin a drunken fit. 'E never knewnothink hall 'is life but beating and starving, till the Haid Societytook 'im hin 'and.
"Then there's Sally. Why, Sally's living 'igh naow--hoff the fat hofthe land, has you might say. Heverybody knows 'ow 'er hold huncletreated 'er!"
Mrs. Estel smiled as she glanced at Sally, to whom the faucet of thewater-cooler seemed a never-failing source of amusement. Ellen had puta stop to her drinking, which she had been doing at intervals all themorning, solely for the pleasure of seeing the water stream out whenshe turned the stop-cock. Now she had taken a tidy spell. Holding herbit of a handkerchief under the faucet long enough to get it drippingwet, she scrubbed herself with the ice-water, until her cheeks shonelike rosy winter apples.
Then she smoothed the wet, elfish-looking hair out of her black eyes,and proceeded to scrub such of the smaller children as could notescape from her relentless grasp. Some submitted dumbly, and othersstruggled under her vigorous application of the icy rag, but all sheattacked came out clean and shining.
Her dress was wringing wet in front, and the water was standing inpuddles around her feet, when the man who had them in charge camethrough the car again. He whisked her impatiently into a seat, settingher down hard. She made a saucy face behind his back, and began tosing at the top of her voice.
One little tot had fallen and bumped its head as the train gave asudden lurch. It was crying pitifully, but in a subdued sort ofwhimper, as if it felt that crying was of no use when nobody listenedand nobody cared. He picked it up, made a clumsy effort to comfortit, and, not knowing what else to do, sat down beside it. Then for thefirst time he noticed Mrs. Estel.
She had taken a pair of scissors from her travelling-bag, and had cutseveral newspapers up into soldiers and dolls and all kinds of animalsfor the crowd that clamored around her.
They were such restless little bodies, imprisoned so long on thistedious journey, that anything with a suggestion of novelty waswelcome.
When she had supplied them with a whole regiment of soldiers andenough animals to equip a menagerie, she took another paper and beganteaching them to fold it in curious ways to make boxes, and boats, andbaskets.
One by one they crowded up closer to her, watching her as if she weresome wonderful magician. They leaned their dusty heads against herfresh gray travelling-dress. They touched her dainty gloves withdirty, admiring fingers. They did not know that this was the firsttime that she had ever come in close contact with such lives astheirs.
They did not know that it was the remembrance of another child,--onewho awaited her home-coming,--a petted little princess born to purpleand fine linen, that made her so tender towards them. Remembering whathers had, and all these lacked, she felt that she must crowd all thebrightness possible into the short afternoon they were together.
Every one of them, at some time in their poor bare lives, had knownwhat it was to be kindly spoken to by elegant ladies, to bepatronizingly smiled upon, to be graciously presented with gifts.
But this was different. This one took the little Hodge girl right upin her lap while she was telling them stories. This one did not pickout the pretty ones to talk to, as strangers generally did. It reallyseemed that the most neglected and unattractive of them received themost of her attention.
From time to time she glanced across at Robin's lovely face, andcontrasted it with the others. The older boy attracted her still more.He seemed to be the only thoughtful one among them all. The othersremembered no past, looked forward to no future. When they were hungrythere was something to eat. When they were tired they could sleep, andall the rest of the time there was somebody to play with. What morecould one want?
The child never stirred from his place, but she noticed that he made aconstant effort to entertain Robin. He told him stories and inventedlittle games. When the bundle came flying in through the window heopened it with eager curiosity.
Grace had hurried into the village store as soon as the train stoppedand had bought the first toy she happened to see. It was a blackdancing bear, worked by a tiny crank hidden under the bar on which itstood. Robin's pleasure was unbounded, and his shrieks of delightbrought all the children flocking around him.
"More dancin', Big Brother," he would insist, when the animal paused."Robin wants to see more dancin'."
So patient little "Big Brother" kept on turning the crank, long afterevery one save Robin was tired of the black bear's antics.
Once she saw the restless 'Enry trying to entice him into a game oftag in the aisle. Big Brother shook his head, and the fat little legsclambered up on the seat again. Robin watched Mrs. Estel with suchlonging eyes as she entertained the others that she beckoned to himseveral times to join them, but he only bobbed his curls gravely andleaned farther back in his seat.
Presently the man strolled down the aisle again to close a window, outof which one fidgety boy kept leaning to spit at the flying telegraphpoles. On his way back Mrs. Estel stopped him.
"Will you please tell me about those two children?" she asked,glancing towards Robin and his brother. "I am very much interested inthem, and would gladly do something for them, if I could."
"Certainly, madam," he replied deferentially. He felt a personal senseof gratitude towards her for having kept three of his most unrulycharges quiet so long. He felt, too, that she did not ask merely fromidle curiosity, as so many strangers had done.
"Yes, everybody asks about them, for they _are_ uncommonbright-looking, but it's very little anybody knows to tell."
Then he gave her their history in a few short sentences. Their fatherhad been killed in a railroad accident early in the spring. Theirmother had not survived the terrible shock more than a week. No tracecould be found of any relatives, and there was no property left tos
upport them. Several good homes had been offered to the childrensingly in different towns, but no one was willing to take both. Theyclung together in such an agony of grief, when an attempt was made atseparation, that no one had the heart to part them.
Then some one connected with the management of the Aid Society openeda correspondence with an old farmer of his acquaintance out West. Itended in his offering to take them both for a while. His marrieddaughter, who had no children of her own, was so charmed with Robin'spicture that she wanted to adopt him. She could not be ready to takehim, though, before they moved into their new house, which they werebuilding several miles away. The old farmer wanted the older boy tohelp him with his market gardening, and was willing to keep the littleone until his daughter was ready
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