The Argosy — page 190: what you’re looking at

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

178 A Secret of the Sea. the noise of wheels behind him. He turned instinctively, and to his great dismay saw a pony phaeton coming rapidly along the road, driven by a youth in livery, beside whom was seated a lady—whether young or old Jack could not yet tell—but evidently well wrapped up in furs. The hot colour rushed to his face. What should he do? What indeed could he do? There was no bye-lane up which he could slink—no stile through which he could wriggle, and so put the shelter of the thick hedge between himself and the road; and it was quite evident that he could not leave the child on the foot-path and take to his heels. All that he could do was to pull his hat savagely over his brows, set his teeth, and march stubbomly on, asif it were the most natural and proper thing in the world for a gentleman in a fashionable overcoat and kid gloves to be strolling along a country road in the middle of the afternoon, hugging a baby—and not a nicely dressed baby either—which the next person he should meet might accuse him .of having stolen. “T hope she’s an old lady—a grandmother, or at least a mother,” ‘said Jack to himself in desperation. ‘In that case, it mightn’t be .a bad thing to appeal to her, and tell her how I came to pick up this pitiful little vagabond. It’s quite evident that I can’t walk into Pembridge -like this.” But, as it happened, the lady who caused poor Jack to quake so ‘terribly was neither a grandmother nor a mother. She was, in fact, no -other than Eleanor Lloyd, who was on her way back to Stammars a couple of days before she was expected there. One of the children having been taken suddenly ill at the house where she had been staying, -she had hurried her departure. She had quitted the train a couple of -stations short of Pembridge in order to cali upon another friend, and it was in this other friend’s phaeton that Miss Lloyd was now being ‘conveyed to Stammars. - As the phaeton drove past, Pomeroy, struggling gallantly on, with a very red face, could not resist shooting a little glance out of the corners of his eyes at the occupant of the carriage. She was young and had blonde hair—so much he could see ; and then he set his eyes stubbornly before him and would not look again. He could see, too, that she gave him one quick, comprehensive glance in passing. He thought the worst was over, and began to breathe again. But hardly had the phaeton passed him a score yards when a small hamper that had been tied up under the back seat, slipped, and fell to the ground. Unconscious of her loss, the lady drove serenely on. What was tobe done? Unless Jack should call out, the hamper would be left behind in the road ; andif he did call out they would drive back, and then all concealment on his __ part would be impossible. ‘I’m in for it now and no mistake!” he muttered to himself, and then he called at the top of his voice. By the time the phaeton had been driven back and the hamper picked CORNICE OOS (GO)