FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133  
134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   >>   >|  
ct. She had taken up her knitting, and her needles clicked and glittered busily. "Matt Peke left a bottle of his herb wine for you," she said. "There it is." She indicated by a jerk of her head a flat oblong quart flask, neatly corked and tied with string, which lay on the counter. It was of a conveniently portable shape, and Helmsley slipped it into one of his coat pockets with ease. "Shall you be seeing Peke soon again, Miss Tranter?" he asked. "I don't know. Maybe so, and maybe not. He's gone on to Crowcombe. I daresay he'll come back this way before the end of the month. He's a pretty regular customer." "Then, will you thank him for me, and say that I shall never forget his kindness?" "Never forget is a long time," said Miss Tranter. "Most folks forget their friends directly their backs are turned." "That's true," said Helmsley, gently; "but I shall not. Good-bye!" "Good-bye!" Miss Tranter paused in her knitting. "Which road are you going from here?" Helmsley thought a moment. "Perhaps," he said at last, "one of the main roads would be best. I'd rather not risk any chance of losing my way." Miss Tranter stepped out of the bar and came to the open doorway of the inn. "Take that path across the moor," and she pointed with one of her bright knitting needles to a narrow beaten track between the tufted grass, whitened here and there by clusters of tall daisies, "and follow it as straight as you can. It will bring you out on the highroad to Williton and Watchett. It's a goodish bit of tramping on a hot day like this, but if you keep to it steady you'll be sure to get a lift or so in waggons going along to Dunster. And there are plenty of publics about where I daresay you'd get a night's sixpenny shelter, though whether any of them are as comfortable as the 'Trusty Man,' is open to question." "I should doubt it very much," said Helmsley, his rare kind smile lighting up his whole face. "The 'Trusty Man' thoroughly deserves trust; and, if I may say so, its kind hostess commands respect." He raised his cap with the deferential easy grace which was habitual to him, and Miss Tranter's pale cheeks reddened suddenly and violently. "Oh, I'm only a rough sort!" she said hastily. "But the men like me because I don't give them away. I hold that the poor must get a bit of attention as well as the rich." "The poor deserve it more," rejoined Helmsley. "The rich get far too much of everything in these
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   109   110   111   112   113   114   115   116   117   118   119   120   121   122   123   124   125   126   127   128   129   130   131   132   133  
134   135   136   137   138   139   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Tranter
 

Helmsley

 

forget

 

knitting

 

daresay

 
Trusty
 
needles
 

follow

 
daisies
 

straight


publics

 

whitened

 
shelter
 

sixpenny

 
clusters
 

steady

 
Dunster
 
Watchett
 

goodish

 

waggons


Williton

 

tramping

 

plenty

 

rejoined

 

highroad

 

habitual

 

cheeks

 

reddened

 

suddenly

 

respect


raised

 
deferential
 

violently

 

hastily

 

commands

 
lighting
 

comfortable

 
question
 

deserve

 
tufted

hostess
 

attention

 
deserves
 
moment
 

pockets

 

conveniently

 
portable
 

slipped

 
pretty
 

Crowcombe