Helen went away feeling very much hurt, and Mary stayed with Jenny and the other girls. The poor woman walked slowly toward them, and when she came opposite she crossed over the street to speak to them.
"Can any of you tell me where Mrs. Willis lives?" she asked, in a sweet, pleasant voice. Her clothes were old-fashioned and worn but she looked and spoke like a lady.
Mary was starting forward to answer her, when Cora Hart pulled her back and at the same moment Jane answered, glibly:
"Mrs. Willis? Yes, ma'am, she lives in that white house up there on the hill," pointing as she spoke to a farm-house which stood about half a mile away upon the side of a steep hill.
"Does she live as far from the village as that?" asked the stranger. "I thought her house was quite near the church."
"She did live near the church," said Jane; "but her house was burned down, and she moved away up there. It is a beautiful place, but rather far-away from the village, and the hill is pretty steep. If you go round the corner by that yellow building with the stairs outside you will be in the road."
The lady thanked her for her information and turned into the street which Jenny had pointed out as leading up to the white house.
"There she goes, trudging along with her bundles," said Jenny, bursting out laughing. "I hope she will find Mrs. Willis at home!"
"Mary was for telling her right away," said Cora. "She would have spoiled all the fun, if I had not stopped her. What do you suppose she wants with your mother, Mary?"
"I dare say she is some beggar woman," answered Mary. "We have heaps of them coming to our house all the time."