Page:Fletcher--Where Highways Cross.djvu/20

 She gave a little sigh of relief.

"I'm glad of that," she said. "It's a long way from Clothford, isn't it, when you walk all the way?"

"On such a day as this, missis, why, yes, it is," answered the waggoner. "A long way indeed."

He cast further glances at her from his eye-corners, and being of an inquisitive nature, would have liked to ask her why she had walked, seeing that the railway was near and trains were plentiful. The woman, however, showed no further disposition to talk, and he took to whistling again and stirred his horses into a slow trot.

The road now crossed a railway bridge, and after dipping slightly, began to ascend through rows of ancient houses towards the heart of the town. The horses slowed down their pace, and as the jangling noise of their bells became fainter, the waggoner and his companion became aware of the sound of such harsh music as may be made by the beating of drums and