"Yes, yes," cried Christina excitedly, "that is his name, and Susy is one of my greatest friends. She told me they were on their way to London when they stopped in our village; and I knew I should meet her again one day. Please tell me where they live."
"I'm sure I don't know. The father is in hospital at present, and is so injured that he will never come out, I am afraid. If you want to see your little friend, you must got some one to take you to the hospital to-morrow. It is visiting day, and the child seems to live outside the hospital gates. They have turned her away twice already to-day."
"Oh, I must see her! Poor Susy! She has no home, she only lives in a cart."
"I fancy that is an impossibility in London," said the doctor with a smile; "and their cart came to grief when they ran into the wagon. Has the child any friends? She will want them before a week is out, or she will have to go to the workhouse."
Christina was in a great state of excitement. She told all she knew about Susy, and begged the doctor to see her that very night, and tell her that her "greatest friend" was in London.
"And I'll ask father if I can go to the hospital very early to-morrow morning and see Susy. We're going home in the afternoon. Oh, I wish I had known about Susy before!"
"Where are you staying?" the doctor asked, looking at her with kindly interest.
Christina told him, adding anxiously:
"I don't know what Susy will do if her father is very ill. Who will look after her?"
The doctor shook his head, and Christina's eyes began to fill with tears.