The Argosy — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

20 The House of Halliwell. ‘Oh, then we will not keep you. Good-night.” ‘‘That’s so much time lost,” said Aunt Copp. ‘“‘ What a bear of 2 man !” They sped on again. Now a high hedge was passed, now the turning to a lane, now a bit of darksome road, where the trees met overhead. Alfred did not overtake them, and soon the sound of voices was heard. ‘What can this be?” whispered Aunt Copp. Hester did not need to echo it; her beating heart had told her. A turning in the road brought them in view of three men and a woman. Their eager eyes saw that Major Halliwell was not one of them. ‘You are some of the passengers by the Harkaway,” said Aunt Copp, meeting them. ‘Do you happen to know whether Major Halliwell was on it?” They were all strangers and did not know Major Halliwell, so could not answer the question. ‘A merry gentleman with a bald head,” said Aunt Copp. ‘ Plum- coloured coat, and had a barrel of oysters with him.” ‘There was a barrel of oysters on the coach,” cried the woman. ‘“My elbow was sore with leaning on it. We was so wedged in together, such a lot of us! Itwasashame. The driver ought to be ’prisoned for taking up so many passengers. We might just as well have lost our lives as not.” “He would probably be sitting on the box seat,” interposed Hester. ‘‘A gentleman of middle height and rather stout. Do you remember ?” “There was a gentleman something like that a-sitting by the coachman,” observed one of the men. ‘‘ He joked a good deal. I think he was one of those hurt and carried in.” They went on again. More hedges, more trees, more vistas of lonely lanes, and more dark night. Other voices were heard now, five or six more of the passengers. Hester recognised one and sprang towards him. It was the gamekeeper at Seaford Park: the servant left in charge, with his wife, during the Earl of Seaford’s absence abroad. “Wells,” she said, ‘is papa hurt ?” ‘T’m afeared he is, miss,” returned the man. ‘ He were in front with Jones, and were throwed right off, they say on his head.” ‘Was he sensible ?” enquired Aunt Copp. “Not yet, ma’am. I was a-bringing you word, now, of the acci- dent. ‘The guard asked me to call with the news.” Hester strove to speak, but her pale lips refused, at first, to utter a sound. ‘* Who is with him, Wells ? ” ‘There was several hurt, miss, and two doctors is with them. Mr. Davis is one.” On they went again, and came near to Crummerton. It was not a village. A few farm-houses were scattered in it far apart, and one public-house lay by the roadside about half-way up the hill. <A long Eomichooks.co