The Secret Garden

eef and bread and butter andsome hot tea. The rain seemed to be streaming down moreheavily than ever and everybody in the station wore wetan

and watched her fine bonnet slip on one side until sheherself fell asleep once more i

again. The trainhad stopped at a sta

ary stood up and tried to keep her eyes open whileMrs. Medlock collected her parcels. The littlegirl did not offer to help her,

he train. The station-masterspoke to Mrs. Medlock in a rough, good-natured way,prono

back," he said. "

overher shoulder toward Mary. "How's thy Missus?""Well enow. Th' carriage is waitin' outside for thee."A brougham stood on the

ing of hishat were shining and dripping with rain a

p again. She sat and looked out of the window,curious to see something of the road over which shewas being driven to the queer place Mrs. Medlock hadspoken of. She was not at all a timid

" she said suddenl

he Manor. You won't seemuch because it's a dark night, but you can see something."Mary asked no more questions but waited in the darknessof her corner

washed cottages and thelights of a public house. Then they had passed a churchand a vicarage a

the highroad and she

different for a longtime--or at

med to beno more hedges and no more trees. She could see nothing,in fact, but a dense darkness on eith

moor now sure enough

ugh bushes and low-growingthings which ended in the great expanse of dark apparentlyspread

, is it?" said Mary, look

ing grows on but heather and gorse and broom,and nothing lives on but wild ponies and sheep.""I feel as if it might be the sea, if

on they drove through the darkness, and thoughthe rain stopped, the wind rushed by and whistled and madestrange sounds. The road went

d that the wide, bleak moor was a wide expanse of blacko

elf. "I don't like it,"and she pinche

en she first caught sight of a light. Mrs. Medlocksaw

' light twinkling,"she exclaimed.

when the carriagepassed through the park gates there was still two milesof avenue to drive through a

nd stopped before an immensely long but low-built

in the windows, but as she got out of the carriageshe sa

nd boundwith great iron bars. It opened into an enormous hall,which was so dimly lighted that the faces in the

a very small,odd little black figure, and she

ood near the manservant w

er to her room," he

ing to Londonin the morning.""Very wel

sturbed and that hedoesn't see what he doesn't want to see."And then Mary Lennox was led up a broad staircaseand down a long corridor and up a short fligh

ck said unce

keep to them. Don't you forget that!"It was in this way Mistress Mary arrived at