t all the
money in my possession--four shillings and sevenpence--and counted it,
although I knew perfectly well what it amounted to. Even if the weather
remained fine, which appeared extremely doubtful, I could not hope to
reach Hazleton in less than two days, and then I must hang about the
entrance to Colebrook Park until I succeeded in seeing Jacintha alone.
As to what was to happen after that, I did not trouble myself; Hazleton
had now become my fixed destination, and by securing a free bed in the
open air for two nights, I reckoned it would be possible to fare well on
the way.

Now that I had set my back towards Barton, I felt perfectly safe from
Mr. Turton, and the road became so hilly and beautiful, with woods and
undulating fields on each hand, that it soon began to engage all my
attention. Villages came close together, and, indeed, the only drawback
that afternoon was the lowering sky, which certainly foreboded a bad
night.

At about five o'clock I passed through a kind of model village, with
some quaint cottages and a few nourishing shops, in one of whose windows
I saw some extremely tempting-looking small pork pies. Having eaten only
bread and cheese for dinner, I was beginning to feel ravenously hungry,
so, entering the shop, I inquired the price.

'Twopence each,' said the girl behind the counter, 'fresh made this
morning.'

'I will have one,' I answered, when it occurred to me that if I was
going to sleep out of doors, it might be wise to buy two, keeping one in
reserve for supper. Then I asked for a glass of milk, and as there was a
penny change out of sixpence, I bought a large cake of chocolate.

On leaving the shop, the sky looked blacker and more threatening than
ever, and I wondered whether Jacintha and her uncle had arrived home
yet. Eating one of the pork pies as I walked on, I followed it by half
the cake of chocolate, and then the rain began, with large drops, which
made me dread a thunder-storm.

After a little while the rain ceased, however, and quickening my steps,
I began to think I should be driven to pay for a night's lodging after
all. Presently I came to a kind of open moor, covered with bracken,
bramble, and brilliant patches of heath. A rabbit scampered across the
road, but there was no one to be seen, although a railway ran close at
hand through a cutting on the right. I could see the tops of the
signal-posts and hear the rush of passing trains now and then. When I
had walked a