this poor man with a polite smile hoping he would feel very kindly toward her as a generous person that s the only money i ve got she said the mill on tub thank yon little miss said the man in a less respectful and grateful tone than anticipated and she even observed that he smiled and winked at his companion she walked on hurriedly but was aware that the two men were standing still probably to look after her and she presently heard them laughing loudly suddenly it occurred to her that they might think she was an idiot tom had said that her hair made her look like an idiot and it was too painful an idea to be readily forgotten besides she had no sleeves on � only a cape and bonnet it was clear that she was not likely to make a favorable impression on passengers and she thought she would turn into the fields again but not on the same side of the lane as before lest hey should still be uncle s fields she turned through the first gate that was not locked and felt a delightful sense of privacy in creeping along by after her recent humiliating encounter she was used to wandering about the fields by herself and was less timid there than on the high road she had to climb over high gates but that was a small evil she was getting out of reach very fast and she should probably soon come within sight of or at least some other common for she had heard her father say that you couldn t go very far without coming to a common she hoped so for she was getting rather tired and hungry and until she reached the there was no definite prospect of bread and butter it was still broad daylight for aunt retaining the early habits of the took tea at half past four by the sun and at five by the kitchen clock so though it was nearly an hour since started there was no gathering gloom on the fields to remind her that the night would come still it seemed to her that she had been walking a very great distance indeed and it was really surprising that the common did not come within sight hitherto she had been in the rich parish of where there was a great deal of pasture land and she had only seen one at a distance that was fortunate in some respects as might be too ignorant to understand the propriety of her wanting to go to common yet it would have been better if she could have met with some one who would tell her the way without wanting to know any thing about her private business at last however the green fields came to an end and found herself looking through the bars of a gate into a lane with a wide margin of grass on each side of it she had never seen such a wide lane before and without her knowing why it gave her the impression that the common could not oe off perhaps it was because she saw a donkey with a log to his thb mill on the foot feeding on the grassy margin for she had seen a donkey with that pitiable on common when she had been across it in her father s she crept through the bars c the gate and walked on with new spirit though not without haunting images of and a with a pistol and a dwarf in yellow with a mouth from ear to ear and other miscellaneous dangers for poor little e had at once the timidity of an active imagination and the that comes from impulse she had rushed into the adventure of seeking her unknown kindred the and now she was in this strange lane she hardly dared look on one side of her lest she should see the blacksmith in his apron grinning at her with arms it was not without a leaping of the heart that she caught sight of a small pair of bare legs sticking up feet uppermost by the side of a they seemed something � a kind of for she was too much agitated at the first glance to see the ragged clothes and the dark shaggy head attached to them it was a boy asleep trotted ter and more lightly lest she should wake it did not occur to her that he was one of her friends the who in all probability would have very genial manners but the fact was so for at the next bend m the lane saw the little black tent with the blue smoke rising before it which was to be her refuge from all the that had pursued her in civilized life she even saw a tall figure by the column of smoke � doubtless the mother who provided the tea and other it was astonishing to herself that she did not feel more delighted but it was startling to find the in a lane after all and not on a common it was rather for a mysterious common where there were sand to hide in and one was out of every body s reach had always made part of s e of she went on however and thought with some comfort that most likely knew nothing about so there was no danger of their falling into the mistake of setting her down at the first glance as an idiot it was plain she had attracted attention for the tall figure who proved to be a young woman with a baby on her arm walked slowly to meet her looked up in the new face rather as it approached and was reassured by the thought that her aunt and the rest were right when they called her a for this face with the bright dark eyes and the long hair was really 