if he went back he
would be certain to fall into the hands of Coote.

No, he would not go back; what he would do was to make his way to
Chesterham. It could not be very far, for the clown had said he should
be there in a few days, although the caravan travelled slowly. Why
shouldn't he walk to his aunt's house, and then he would see his mother
and father, who no doubt would look surprised to see him dressed as a
clown. If his mother was really like Aunt Selina she might be very
angry, but then he hoped she wasn't like his aunt, and, at all events,
Jimmy thought she could not be angry with him just the first time she
saw him.

But, then, he might not be in the right road for Chesterham, and he did
not wish to lose his way, because he had no money to buy anything to
eat, and already he was beginning to feel hungry. The sooner he got
along the better, so he rose from his seat beside the road and walked on
in the hope of seeing some one who could tell him the way. He walked
rather slowly, but still he went a few miles, passing a cottage with
lights in the windows now and then, but not liking to knock at the door.
But presently he felt so tired that he made up his mind to knock at the
next. When he came to it he walked up to the garden gate, but then his
courage failed. He stood leaning against the gate, hoping that some of
the people whose voices he could hear might come out; but presently the
windows became dark, and Jimmy guessed that, instead of coming out, the
people in the cottage had gone to bed.

Now that he knew it must be very late, Jimmy began to feel a little
afraid. It seemed very dull and lonely, and he longed to meet somebody,
never mind who it was. There was only one thing which seemed to be
moving, and that was a windmill standing on a slight hill a little way
from the road. It seemed very curious to watch the sails going round in
the darkness, but Jimmy could see them rise and fall, because they
looked black against the blue sky. The mill was so near that he could
hear the noise of the sails as they went round, it sounded like a very
loud humming-top, and there were one or two patches of light to be seen
in the mill.

Jimmy thought that perhaps he might be able to lie down near to it,
although the difficulty was to get to it. But when he had walked on a
little farther, he saw a dark-looking lane on his right hand, and after
stopping to think a little, he walked along it. With every step he took
the hu