A veil was thrown over her face before they took her into the car and laid her carefully down upon the seat with her head, as before, resting on the lap of one of the women.
Marion dared not risk stopping on that car, but ran quickly through it, after seeing them seated, and took her place in the next.
When morning came, still keeping out of Elfie’s sight, she kept watch of the party, who seemed to have made another change in their plans; for instead of going on to New York they took a hack on reaching Troy and drove to the Secor House. Marion heard the direction given to the driver, who drove so deliberately that even without running all the way she kept them in sight.
CHAPTER XXX.
IN TROY.
There was an unpretending restaurant opposite the Secor House, where, just as Marion reached it, a middle-aged man with a delightfully good-natured look upon his rather plain face was taking down the shutters.
“Is it too early for me to have some breakfast in your saloon?” she asked. “If I just had a glass of milk and some bread it would be enough.”
“We don’t generally serve meals ’fore eight o’clock,” said the man, looking at her keenly but kindly; “but if that’s all you want, and you don’t mind takin’ it settin’ up to the counter, why, come in.”
Marion felt quite sure the party were intending to seclude themselves by day and travel by night, but she knew not how to keep them in sight. While she was thinking about it as she sat by the counter eating and only half listening to the talkative saloon-keeper the sound of a blind thrown back fell on her ear, and, glancing up at the shabby hotel opposite, she saw the woman we have known as Madame Belotti turning away from an upper window.
“O, Mr. Jones,” she said, having learned the good-natured restaurant-keeper’s name from the highly embellished business cards which filled a tray on the counter, “could I get a room over there in that hotel, do you think?”