The Argosy — page 299: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Great Mystery. 281 terror, her eyes fixed on the policeman. I could not get her on, and we were stopping those behind. Naturally the man’s eyes fell on her; and with evident recognition. ‘Qh it’s you here, is it, Miss Carey !” The tone was not exactly insolent ; but it was cool and significant, wanting in respect. When I would have asked him how he dared so to address a young lady, the words were arrested by Janet. I thought she had gone mad. “Oh, get me away, Mr. iydlow, for Heaven’s sake! Don’t let him take me! Oh what shall I do! what shall I do?” “What you've got to do is to get for’ard out o’ this here passage and not block up the way,” struck in the policeman. “I bain’t after you now; sO you've no call to be afeared this time. Pass on that way, sir.” I drew her onwards, and in half a minute we were in the open air, clear of the throng. Cattledon, who seemed to have comprehended nothing, except that we had stopped the way, shook Janet by the arm in a tower of anger, and asked what had come to her. ‘It was the same man, aunt, that Mrs. Knox called in,” she gasped. “I thought he had come to London to look for me.” Miss Cattledon’s answer was to keep hold of her arm, and whirl her along towards the outer gates. Anna and I followed in a fog of wonder. “What is it all, Johnny?” she whispered. ‘“Goodness knows, Anna. J——” Cattledon turned her head, asking me to go on and secure a cab. Janet was helped into it and sat back with her eyes closed, a shiver taking her every now and then. Janet appeared at dinner, and seemed as well as usual. In the evening. Helen tore the skirt of her thin dress: and before she was aware, the girl was kneeling by the side of her chair with a needle and thread, be- ginning to mend it. ‘You are very kind,” said Helen heartily, when she saw what Janet was doing. “Oh no,” answered Janet, with an upward, self-depreciatory glance from her nice eyes. But soon after that, when we were describing to Helen and Miss Deveen the sights at the Colosseum, and the silence of the buried village after the avalanche had fallen, Janet was taken with an ague fit. The very chair shook ; it seemed that she must fall out of it. Anna ran to hold her. Miss Deveen got up in consternation. ‘“‘Tbat Colosseum has been too much for her: there’s , nothing sO fatiguing as sight-seeing. I did wrong in letting Janet go, as she is still weak from her illness. Perhaps she has taken cold.” Ringing the bell, Miss Deveen told George to make some hot wine ECoOMmicloooks (C(O)