The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1902-05-30
CHAPTER IV-(Continued. !


And then Harold amazed them by
the question:
us there a school at Easthill- On
Sea? I never heard Of one"
Easthill-on-Sea was about two miles
from Easthill proper, in the opposite
direction from Dynevor Manor and the
Uplands. Within the last few years
some spectators had got possession
Of land there, and were trying hard to
convert what had been a fishing ham
let into watering-place. They had
not succeeded we'll, and the present
result was kind of struggling, I'M
finished settlement, which was neither
town nor village. The old inhabitants
Of Easthill rather made game Of the
new watering place. which will account
for Kitty's laugh.
II really don't know, Harold; I
hardly ever 20 to Easthill-on-Sea.
There may be half a dozen schools;
but hope not, for their proprietors'
sakes, for can't imagine that any one
would send children there"
Il think you're hard on the place"
said Harold. There's very good
beach and splendid air. I suppose
people are to be found who can do
without niggers at the seaside"
"Ah, but they'd want decent roads
and tolerable comfort" objected Kitty;
land you know when it rains Easthill-
cn-Sea is almost a swamp, because no
one has made up the roads. Then they
only bake every other day, and the
butchers shop opens twice week. 1t
would take a good deal to make up for
such drawbacks"
1T is all so unfinished" said Mrs.
Dynevor. "The roads are staked out,
and imposing names painted on sign
boards, like Elm avenue" and Sea
View gardens but neither avenue nor
gardens boast a single house, and the
roads are not even divided from each
other, except by few posts"
"Why are you so suddenly interested
in Easthill-on-Sea?" demanded Kitty.
You can't possibly have been asked
to recommend any one school there"
ooh, dear, no; but came home from
Marion by train, and girl got out
at our station who wanted to go to
Easthill-on-Sea. She asked the porter
the way to Mrs. Tanners school. He
questioned the ticket collector, and
even the station master himself, but
neither Of them had ever heard OF 1t.
I couldn't help feeling sorry for her,
she looked so tired and sad. 1t must
be hard lines to come off long journey
and not find any one who can direct
you to your destination"
poor thing!" said Kitty, and then
the subject dropped. None OF the three
guessed the influence the lonely little
traveller was to have on their lives. 1t
never dawned on Kitty that the I'M
known girl who was bound for school
no one had ever heard of was to be
her dearest friend.
CHAPTER V.
Nothing will describe the desolation
which filled Beryl Lindon's heart
when she stepped on to the platform
at Easthill. She had left London filled
with the one desire of escaping from
her father and stepmother. Ever since
she heard Of the formers marriage her
one end and object had been to get
safely away from Chichester square. 1t
was only when she had actually start
ed, when Mrs. Markham's kindly face
was lost to sight, that she realized she
was going among strangers, that
new, untried life lay before her, with
not one friendly voice to brighten it.
It was a long, tedious journey, and
involved two changes. Easthill was on
branch line, at which only the slow
est Of trains condescended to stop.
She was very plainly dressed in
black; but all her things had come
from West End shop, and there was
an air OF distinction about her not
often seen in lonely little third-class
traveller
She was eighteen, though she looked
older-a very small, fairy-like crea-
ture. with soft, wavy brown hair, and
! big, lustrous blue-grey eyes. Her COM
plexion was very fair. and had the
daintiest carmine tint
She knew absolutely nothing Of the
country. Brighton, Brussels, where
! she had been at school. and the tall
house in Chichester square had made
up her world. To find herself at a
little rustic station, with only few
cottages in sight, was almost alarming.
And no one at the station had heard
OF Mrs. Tanners school. That of it.
| self was enough to discourage her.
Don't you be afraid, missile" the
station master said kindly. If you
wrote to the lady, and she had your
letter, she must live here somewhere,
and the postof1ce are the best people
to help you find her. You go straight
along this lane till you come to a sign
post, take the road marked 'Easthill-
on-Sea,' and presently you'll see four
or five shops. The postofice Is the
first Of the lot, and they'll put you
right
| Beryl left her luggage to the porter's
mercy and started The lane seemed
interminable. Perhaps in summer time
It was pretty; but it was late season