[CHAPTER I.]
ONE CHANCE BY SEA, AND ONE BY LAND.
MANY years ago, when railroads were not quite so common as they are now, and when no one knew how completely they would change the face of old England and the habits and manners of her children, some workmen from Birmingham were employed in laying the rails of a line which was to connect a certain small seaport in Essex with an inland town twenty miles off, which already possessed railroad communication with London. I shall call this tiny seaport—now a considerable place, thanks to this very railway—Sandsea, and the town Kingsmore, though these are not the real names of the places.
The railway was being made for the benefit of the salt trade: there were extensive salt marshes near Sandsea, and hitherto the salt had been sent to London or other places by sea, which was a serious impediment to the trade, as the Essex coast is a very unsafe one.
It was in the month of March, and the weather was bright and dry, but bitterly cold. A north-east wind blew in from the sea and swept over the somewhat level face of the country, nipping any silly little plants which had ventured to show their noses, and nipping too, not only the noses, but the fingers and toes of all who were exposed to its blast.
Several miles of the permanent way had been made, and about two miles of rail, beginning at Sandsea. On these rails the workmen ran a lorry, which carried their tools and the greater part of their own number to the scene of their labour. But the person who brought the men their midday meal had no lorry at her command, and it was a pretty heavy load. She was the wife of the chief workman, who was in command of the party, and except bread, she brought out everything required for a good hearty dinner for the whole gang; the bread they took with them in the morning. This arrangement had worked very well for some time, but one day twelve o'clock passed, and the welcome sight of dinner was not to be seen.
The north part of Essex is not quite so flat as the south; but the hills are low and rounded, and there are no very striking features in the landscape. In a cutting through one of these hills there was a semicircular excavation, where it was intended to build a tool-house presently; but just now it was very useful to the men, as it afforded them shelter from the wind, and for several days they had used it as their dining-room.
"Well, mates!" said Tom Avery, a tall, good-humoured looking fellow, dressed in white flannels, which were wonderfully clean, considering the nature of his work. "Whatever has come to my missis? There's a clock inside of me that says it's past twelve."
"Long past," said another man—a stoutly made surly-looking fellow, with wonderfully black hair. "And I'd like my dinner—I don't deny it."
Tom Avery stood up, shaded his eyes with his hands, and took a good look along the line.