Fantasy fiction; Siblings -- Juvenile fiction; Twins -- Juvenile fiction
“He’s a dear old lad,” said Mrs Jennet, eyeing the photo
affectionately. “I wish you could have waited to see ’im—but if you do
find the old Black Leaf ’e’ll get a ’oliday I expect—every one will.
My! Won’t there be celebrations! And we’ll all come down to the City
and see you! ’Ave some more milk, duckie?”
Mrs Jennet chattered gaily on, asking and answering numberless
questions. Molly asked her if she could tell her of any one she could
trust, who lived in the little cottages or farms beyond Lake Desolate.
“Yes, yes. There’s a very nice lady I know lives in one of them—in a
little cottage on the side of the Giant’s ’Ead—that’s the name of the
’ill—it’s shaped on top like a huge ’ead. She’s got a sweet, pretty
cottage—stays there for ’er ’ealth. She’s away sometimes staying with
’er sister in the City, but I should think she’d be ’ome this time of
year. ’Er name’s Lydia North—Miss Lydia we always call ’er. ’Ere, I’ve
got a photo of ’er in my album. I’ll show you. She very kindly give
me one when she knew I collected photos, bless ’er ’eart!” said Mrs
Jennet.
The photo was of a refined, sweet-faced lady. Molly studied it intently
so that she would know Miss Lydia when she saw her.
“Thank you very much,” said Molly. “This will be a great help to me. I
know one person I can trust anyway.”
But Molly was not to get away as easily as that. Once Mrs Jennet had
got her beloved album open she insisted on showing Molly all the photos
of her relatives and friends, including Mrs Rose and Farmer Rose.
“I wish you had a photo of yourself about you,” said Mrs Jennet. “I’d
like you in the album.”
Molly was sorry she couldn’t oblige her hostess, but admired the
collection of photographs with such enthusiasm that Mrs Jennet was
enraptured. At length Molly managed to tear herself away, and bidding
good-bye to Mrs Jennet, and thanking her warmly for all her kindness,
Molly started out once more.
It was now early afternoon. Searching carefully along the road and on
either side of it she proceeded slowly. As she went on, the country
grew wilder and lonelier. The hills rose up on every side, bare,
gaunt hills on which nothing seemed to grow, and at the foot of the
hills great rocks and stones were strewn. Molly soon left all signs of
the miners’ houses behind her, and as she looked back and could see
nothing but the wild scenery all around her—no smoke from a chimney,
no sign of human beings at all—she began to feel very small and lost
and lonely. But she was not afraid. She realized, after thinking things
over, that in the ordinary way the Pumpkin’s spies could not touch
her or make her do things by force; it had to be some carelessness or
weakness in herself which enabled them to obtain a power over her. She
would be very careful in future, and would not trust any one but those
people who she _knew_ were her friends. She would be on her guard all
the time.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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