"I fancy it must be time to go and take my ticket. If I had known howdark it would be, we wouldn"t have sent back the cab, Margaret."
"Oh, don"t fidget about that. I can take a cab here, if I like; or go back bythe rail-road, when I should have shops and people and lamps all theway from the Milton station-house. Don"t think of me; take care ofyourself. I am sick with the thought that Leonards may be in the sametrain with you. Look well into the carriage before you get in."
They went back to the station. Margaret insisted upon going into thefull light of the flaring gas inside to take the ticket. Some idle-lookingyoung men were lounging about with the stationmaster. Margaretthought she had seen the face of one of them before, and returned him aproud look of offended dignity for his somewhat impertinent stare ofundisguised admiration. She went hastily to her brother, who wasstanding outside, and took hold of his arm. "Have you got your bag? Letus walk about here on the platform," said she, a little flurried at the ideaof so soon being left alone, and her bravery oozing out rather faster thanshe liked to acknowledge even to herself. She heard a step followingthem along the flags; it stopped when they stopped, looking out alongthe line and hearing the whizz of the coming train. They did not speak;their hearts were too full. Another moment, and the train would be here;a minute more, and he would be gone. Margaret almost repented theurgency with which she had entreated him to go to London; it wasthrowing more chances of detection in his way. If he had sailed forSpain by Liverpool, he might have been off in two or three hours.
Frederick turned round, right facing the lamp, where the gas darted upin vivid anticipation of the train. A man in the dress of a railway porterstarted forward; a bad-looking man, who seemed to have drunk himselfinto a state of brutality, although his senses were in perfect order.
"By your leave, miss!" said he, pushing Margaret rudely on one side, andseizing Frederick by the collar.
"Your name is Hale, I believe?"
In an instant--how, Margaret did not see, for everything danced beforeher eyes--but by some sleight of wrestling, Frederick had tripped himup, and he fell from the height of three or four feet, which the platformwas elevated above the space of soft ground, by the side of the railroad.
There he lay.
"Run, run!" gasped Margaret. "The train is here. It was Leonards, was it?
oh, run! I will carry your bag." And she took him by the arm to push himalong with all her feeble force. A door was opened in a carriage--hejumped in; and as he leant out t say, "God bless you, Margaret!" the trainrushed past her; an she was left standing alone. She was so terribly sickand faint that she was thankful to he able to turn into the ladies" waiting-room, and sit down for an instant. At first she could do nothing but gaspfor breath. It was such a hurry; such a sickening alarm; such a nearchance. If the train had not been there at the moment, the man wouldhave jumped up again and called for assistance to arrest him. Shewondered if the man had got up: she tried to remember if she had seenhim move; she wondered if he could have been seriously hurt. Sheventured out; the platform was all alight, but still quite deserted; shewent to the end, and looked over, somewhat fearfully. No one wasthere; and then she was glad she had made herself go, and inspect, forotherwise terrible thoughts would have haunted her dreams. And evenas it was, she was so trembling and affrighted that she felt she could notwalk home along the road, which did indeed seem lonely and dark, asshe gazed down upon it from the blaze of the station. She would waittill the down train passed and take her seat in it. But what if Leonardsrecognised her as Frederick"s companion! She peered about, beforeventuring into the booking-office to take her ticket. There were onlysome railway officials standing about; and talking loud to one another.
"So Leonards has been drinking again!" said one, seemingly in authority.
"He"ll need all his boasted influence to keep his place this time."
"Where is he?" asked another, while Margaret, her back towards them,was counting her change with trembling fingers, not daring to turnround until she heard the answer to this question.
"I don"t know. He came in not five minutes ago, with some long story orother about a fall he"d had, swearing awfully; and wanted to borrowsome money from me to go to London by the next up-train. He made allsorts of tipsy promises, but I"d something else to do than listen to him; Itold him to go about his business; and he went off at the front door."
"He"s at the nearest vaults, I"ll be bound," said the first speaker. "Yourmoney would have gone there too, if you"d been such a fool as to lendit."
"Catch me! I knew better what his London meant. Why, he has neverpaid me off that five shillings"--and so they went on.
And now all Margaret"s anxiety was for the train to come. She hidherself once more in the ladies" waiting-room, and fancied every noisewas Leonards" step--every loud and boisterous voice was his. But noone came near her until the train drew up; when she was civilly helpedinto a carriage by a porter, into whose face she durst not look till theywere in motion, and then she saw that it was not Leonards".