| 137 | 138 | 139 | 140 | 141 |
| 1 | 133 | 265 | 398 | 530 |
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sulkily by himself as he had heretofore done, kept close to her, and
when he had an opportunity of looking at her unseen by his
companion, warned her by certain wry faces and jerks of the head not
to put any trust in Short, but to reserve all confidences for Codlin.
Neither did he confine himself to looks and gestures, for when she and
her grandfather were walking on beside the aforesaid Short, and that
little man was talking with his accustomed cheerfulness on a variety
of indifferent subjects, Thomas Codlin testified his jealousy and
distrust by following close at her heels, and occasionally admonishing
her ankles with the legs of the theatre in a very abrupt and painful
manner.
All these proceedings naturally made the child more watchful and
suspicious, and she soon observed that whenever they halted to
perform outside a village alehouse or other place, Mr Codlin while he
went through his share of the entertainments kept his eye steadily
upon her and the old man, or with a show of great friendship and
consideration invited the latter to lean upon his arm, and so held him
tight until the representation was over and they again went forward.
Even Short seemed to change in this respect, and to mingle with his
good-nature something of a desire to keep them in safe custody. This
increased the child's misgivings, and made her yet more anxious and
uneasy.
Meanwhile, they were drawing near the town where the races were to
begin next day; for, from passing numerous groups of gipsies and
trampers on the road, wending their way towards it, and straggling
out from every by-way and cross-country lane, they gradually fell into
a stream of people, some walking by the side of covered carts, others
with horses, others with donkeys, others toiling on with heavy loads
upon their backs, but all tending to the same point. The public-
houses by the wayside, from being empty and noiseless as those in
the remoter parts had been, now sent out boisterous shouts and
clouds of smoke; and, from the misty windows, clusters of broad red
faces looked down upon the road. On every piece of waste or common
ground, some small gambler drove his noisy trade, and bellowed to
the idle passersby to stop and try their chance; the crowd grew thicker
and more noisy; gilt gingerbread in blanket-stalls exposed its glories to
the dust; and often a four-horse carriage, dashing by, obscured all
objects in the gritty cloud it raised, and left them, stunned and
blinded, far behind.
It was dark before they reached the town itself, and long indeed the
few last miles had been. Here all was tumult and confusion; the
streets were filled with throngs of people - many strangers were there,
it seemed, by the looks they cast about - the church-bells rang out
their noisy peals, and flags streamed from windows and house-tops.
In the large inn-yards waiters flitted to and fro and ran against each
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