"I wish you would speak to me once in a while."
Alice freed one of her hands, and took hold of Ellen's.
"I have been so busy picking my way along, I have neglected you, haven't I?"
"Oh, no, Maam. But I like to hear the sound of your voice sometimes; it makes me feel better."
"This is an odd kind of travelling, isn't it?" said Alice, cheerfully; "in the dark, and feeling our way along? This will be quite an adventure to talk about, won't it?"
"Quite," said Ellen.
"It is easier going this way, don't you find it so? The wind helps us forward."
"It helps me too much," said Ellen; "I wish it wouldn't be quite so very kind. Why, Miss Alice, I have enough to do to hold myself together, sometimes. It almost makes me run, though I am so very tired."
"Well, it is better than having it in our faces, at any rate. Tired you are, I know, and must be. We shall want to rest all day tomorrow, shan't we?"
"Oh, I don't know!" said Ellen, sighing; "I shall be glad when we begin. How long do you think it will be, Miss Alice, before we get to Mrs. Van Brunt's?"