“Yes, I did,” repeated Polly. “No, I started to tell her, but she went away. I took all there was in it. We had to break the bank to get it out. The pieces are in my table-drawer. I couldn’t bear to throw them away and, oh, dear!—now I guess I’d better go, please. I can’t eat any more, really! And I’ve drunk all the milk——”
“That’s a good girl,” the maid said kindly. “Now, step soft as ever you can so as not to wake anybody. I’ll go down to the station, or almost down to it, and see you in the train myself.”
“But it’s such a long walk,” protested poor Polly. “You’ll get all tired out.”
“Oh, that’s nothing. I’ll carry your bundle and if we hurry I can be back here in no time—before Bridget and the rest are up, I’m sure.”
So, creeping softly and noiselessly down the long, silent halls and staircases the two stole out of the house, through the grounds and out into the sunny stretch of road beyond. It was a long, tiresome tramp, but Polly was too excited to notice it. She wanted to hurry, to run, to do anything that would help her to get to sister more speedily. Theresa carried her bundle, which was rather heavy, to within a short distance of the station.
“Now, I can’t go any further with you,” she said as they reached the last turn in the road, “for it’s getting late and I ought to be home if I don’t want the girls to think I—I’m neglecting my work. But you’re all right now, you can see the depot there in front of you. Just you go straight into the waiting-room and up to the little window in the middle and ask for a ticket to the city, and if the ticket-seller says ‘return?’ you say ‘No!’ for I couldn’t very well spare you the money for both ways and have only given you enough to carry you down. You won’t need any change after you get there, for the hospital isn’t very far, and when you get to the hospital your sister will see to you or some one else will. There’ll be no trouble about that. Well, run along now and don’t, for the life of you, tell anybody what’s the matter or why you’re going away or anything. It isn’t safe for little girls to speak to strangers.”
Polly promised and, with rather a heavy pat upon the shoulder that was meant to seem friendly, Theresa shoved her forward on her way.
After she had gone the maid stood and watched her with narrow, eager eyes. She waited there, in fact hidden from sight behind the roadside trees and bushes, until she heard the heavy train thunder up and off again. Then she turned, sped quickly back along the path she and Polly had come, and reached the house and the shelter of her own room before any of the other servants were astir.