The Little School-Mothers

occasion.

  "It was I," she thought, "who caused him to be lost, so I will find himagain; yes, I will find him if it kills me."

  Suddenly she drew up on the edge of a piece of common. Here onlyyesterday, surely, were many brown tents and many brown people. Herewas this fascinating house on wheels of which she had spoken so much tolittle Ralph. But now--she could not believe her eyes!

  The place was empty. She could see, even by the moonlight, patches ofyellow grass which had been covered by the tents, and here and there shecould also perceive a bone or two, or a scrap of broken bread. But nota gipsy was in sight, not a tent within view, not a dog, not a brownbaby. The gipsies had gone! Why had they gone? They were there, sheknew, that very afternoon, for she had seen the smoke curling up fromthe house on wheels, as she and Ralph had gone with Pattie to thevillage.

  The gipsies had gone away quickly: of course they had taken Ralph withthem. Now what was she to do? She stood still in a shadowy part of thefield, and, as she did so, she distinctly heard the sound of wheels, andlistening, there floated also to her ears the sound of many voicessinging.

  Her school-companions were returning from their picnic. They werecoming back, as arranged, by moonlight. They were happy: they wereenjoying themselves. Harriet distinctly heard Robina's voice above theothers. Robina had a clear voice like a bird. Her notes were veryhigh. They seemed to rise up as though, like the larks, they wouldpierce the sky. Now they rose above the other voices in a sort oftorrent of rejoicing. Harriet dug her fingers into her ears.

  "Oh, how soon they will be back!" she thought; "and they will miss him,and they will know all about me, and oh--I can't, can't stand it! Iwill follow the gipsies. I wonder where they have gone."

  Harriet thought for a few minutes. The police had already been to visitthat very field. They had gone there in Dr Pyke's company, and theywere taking steps to follow the gipsies on horseback. But Harriet knewsomething that the police did not know. One of the servants in thehouse had long ago been a gipsy girl herself; and Harriet, who was muchfascinated by stories of the wild brown people, used to talk to thisgirl when she got a chance. The girl, from time to time, imparted someof the secrets of her people to Harriet. Amongst other things, she hadtold her of the favourite resting-places of her tribe. This specialcommon was one. But there was another five miles away, in the veryheart of a deep wood, where they used to go when they wanted to hidesomething. The police did not know of this place of refuge in themiddle of the High Woods, as they were called; but Harriet remembered itnow.

  It was five miles away, and she was only a little girl, and she wastired. But what of that if it might be her privilege to find Ralph andbring him back? What mattered any amount of fatigue?

  Cora had told her how to get to the hiding-place in the wood. She haddescribed how difficult it was for an ordinary person to find it, buthad given Harriet a full description of it in one of her moments ofconfidence.

  "We often wanted to make ourselves scarce," Cora would say, "and no oneever yet found us there. It was a bonny enough place, too, although thetrees grew so thick around that we did not get much sunshine."

  Now Harriet started on her way to the gipsies' hiding-place in thewoods. She was glad of the moonlight, and glad to avoid the road. Shecrossed many fields, and by and by found herself in a lane with very,very high hedges. The hedges were so high that she could not see ascrap of the world on either side of her. She could only gaze at thestars overhead, and wonder, and wonder, what was going to happen. Shemight be going wrong for all she knew. But all of a sudden she sawsomething shining on the road. She stooped and picked it up. It was achild's broken rattle--the sort of thing which a gipsy child might have.

  Now she felt certain that she was on the track of the runaways, and thisknowledge gave her confidence. It takes, however, a very long time fora small girl not twelve years of age to walk five miles; and it was longpast midnight, and the moon in the sky had set, and real darkness hadcome over the world before Harriet reached the entrance to the woods.

  The lane in which she found herself led straight to these very woods:and oh! if it had been dark in the lane, how black was it here. Shefound her heart beating, and for a short time had not courage to go on.But then she thought of Ralph. She thought of him so hard that he beganto fill all her little world. She wanted him so badly that no pony thatever breathed was now of any consequence to her in comparison. Whyshould she fear the creatures in the wood? She had no room in her heartfor fear.

  So she moved gently forward, a little girl, all alone in the black wood!The creatures of the wood must have wondered, and no doubt most of themwere very much afraid of her, and retired into their snug little woodhomes on her approach. But she saw none of them.

  At last she came to a clearing, and in the clearing she perceived whatmade her heart beat wildly. It was no less a creature than a dog. Thegipsies must be close at hand.

  The dog was lying on the ground dead asleep. But when Harrietapproached, he started and growled. Harriet, led by she knew not whatinstinct, immediately put her hand on his head. He quivered all over.Whether he would have growled again or bitten her, no one can tell, butin despair she flung herself by his side, and whispered in his ear:

  "Oh, do be quiet; I am so miserable!"

  No one can quite tell what dogs understand, but certainly this doggrowled no more. On the contrary, he licked Harriet's hand with his hottongue. She had at last found the gipsies, and she might stay where shewas until the first light of the morning. Perhaps poor Harriet sleptwith her head on the dog's shaggy neck, but even she herself was notquite sure on that point.

  Early, very, very early in the morning, led by Jakes, the gipsies' dog,she found the house on wheels. The gipsies were tired, and most of themasleep. But when Harriet approached the dogs all barked, and of coursethe gipsy men all started to their feet, and the toothless old cronecame out of the house on wheels, and pretty Flavia followed her.

  "What did the little lady want?" they asked. They were all quiteinclined to be civil to the little girl.

  "I want," said Harriet, "my own little boy. I am his school-mother, andI want him back again."

  "Oh Harriet! Harriet!" cried Ralph's little voice.

  He popped his small head outside the house on wheels. Not even Flaviacould keep him from Harriet now. In one minute he was in her arms, andshe was kissing him--oh, with such a world of affection. Somehow, Ralphfelt a difference in her kisses, and he loved her at last, and knew thathe had not loved her at all before.

  "Ralph, you must come home at once," said Harriet.

  "Now, my dear," said the tall gipsy man who had lured Ralph away on theprevious night; "this little boy belongs to us, don't yer, little man?"

  "No, I don't," said Ralph. "This is my school-mother, and I belong toher."

  "You had best let him come," said Harriet, "for the police are lookingfor you, and you'll get into dreadful hot water if you keep the littleboy."

  "We took charge of him," said the man, sulkily; but a frightened lookcrossed his face when Harriet spoke of the police. "He were a poorlonely little gent, and we took pity on him."

  "They were awfu' kind to me!" said Ralph. "They're very nice gipsypeople; and see, they give me this."

  He showed his basket with great pride to Harriet.

  "See!" he continued, "there's things inside--a knife, and matches, andall sorts of other things."

  "That don't matter now," said Harriet. "You must come back; they'redreadfully frightened about you at school, and so was I. Gipsy man,"said Harriet, looking up at the tall man, "will you please saddle ahorse, and put Ralph on its back, and put me there too, for I amdreadfully tired, and take us to Abbeyfield, and please be quick."

  "When my father comes back," said Ralph, "I will talk to him about you,gipsy man, and about you, pretty gipsy lady." Here he took Flavia'shand. "And he shall give you money--much--and big money; and I willcome and see you again, for I love you al
l."

  "We'd best take him back," said the man, looking at the toothless oldcrone, "or we'll get into trouble with the per-lice."

  "Yes," said Harriet, gravely, "and you had best be quick."

  So early in the morning the children went back to the school on thegipsy's tall horse, and the gipsy himself led them. Ralph talked allthe way back, and was very gay and very happy; and when he parted fromthe gipsy man he insisted on kissing him, which surprised that personvery much.

  "Good-bye, little master," he said, in rather a shamefaced way.

  "Good-bye," said Ralph. "And Father will give you money: I'll see hedo."

  Thus Ralph returned after