A gypsy against her will

by Emma Leslie

He soon did the job, neatly and effectively, and the gentleman was so pleased with the way it was done, that he gave him a bath to repair and paint, and several other articles of domestic use to put in order, which he did in an outhouse the next day.

By this means a few shillings were earned, and the week came to an end. And on Sunday, he started off on another route; for he had heard of a fair being held a few miles off, and he did not doubt that the Stanleys would make for this point, and here he should catch them.

But alas for his hopes! He reached the fair-ground in time to see the close of the frolic, but no van bore the name of Stanley, and no one had seen any shows answering to the description of theirs.

Weary and disheartened, the poor fellow decided to stay here long enough to receive a letter from his mother, and hear how she and his father were, and whether the bit of rag he had sent home in his last letter was a piece of Lizzie's frock.

So again he went in search of work. The gentleman for whom he had done the repairing had kindly written a letter giving his name and address as reference, and stating what he had done for him in the way of repairs. He had likewise recommended him to go to a certain shop in the High Street, where he himself was known to the proprietor, and it so happened that they were pressed with work just then, and glad to take on an extra hand, especially as he was recommended by some one so well known.

So Jack decided to stay there for a week or two, and earn a little money before he went any further. The answer to his letter came in due course from his mother, who was very glad to have heard from her boy. She was well, she said, but there was very little improvement in his father's condition. The bit of stuff he had sent in his previous letter was certainly a piece of one of Lizzie's frocks, and looked as though it had been torn off the hem at the bottom. They had received no news of her, and the police seem to have given up all hope of tracing her now, wrote poor Mrs. Betts.

And Jack could read the unwritten prayer these words contained, and he said aloud as he read them: "Never fear, Mother, I don't mean to give up the search till I have found these people, and make them tell me what they have done with her."

And this assurance he sent to his mother that night, telling them at the same time that he had got work that might last a week or two, and that he intended to stay there and save a little money to travel with. There was some chance that they might come to a fair that would be held in a neighbouring town in a few weeks' time; for he had made it his business to inquire about all the fairs that were held within a dozen miles of this place.

To hear that the bit of rag he had found was a piece of his sister's frock was some encouragement at least, for it proved that if she was not actually with them, they must know something about her.

So Jack went on with his work, and proved himself a steady, capable, painstaking workman, giving satisfaction to his employer, and making himself helpful and agreeable to his fellow-workmen. He made no secret of the errand that had brought him into the neighbourhood, and all who heard his story sympathized with him, and many wrote to friends at a distance asking them to notice all the travelling companies of show people that came near them, and to give information at once if any of the name of Stanley should appear.