She  had  a  little  white  sunbonnet  on,
which  Jane  Sands  had  actually  bestowed
upon  her, — rather  grudgingly,  it  is  true,


108  Zoe.
and  only  because  there  was  some  defect
about  it  which  made  it  unworthy  of  the
pampered  child  at  Stokeley.  Zoe  saw
the  organist,  or  at  least  Mrs.  Gray  im-
agined that  she  did,  for  the  cry  she
gave  might  equally  well  have  been  in-
tended as  a  geeting  to  a  pig  down  in
the  ditch.
"Well,  a-never,  who'd  V  thought!
she  see  you  ever  so  far  off,  bless  her!
and  give  such  a  jump  as  pretty  near  took
her  out  of  my  arms.  Why,  there !  Mr.
Robins  don't  want  you,  Miss  Saucy,  no
one  don't  want  such  rubbidge ;  a
naughty,  tiresome  gal!  as  won't  go  to
sleep,  but  keeps  jumping  and  kicking
and  looking  about  till  my  arm's  fit  to
drop  with  aching."

Jane  Sands  was  sitting  at  work  just
outside  the  kitchen  door  at  the  side  of
the  house.  He  had  seen  her  there  a


Zoe.  109

minute  ago  when  he  filled  the  watering-
can  at  the  pump,  and  a  sudden  impulse
came  into  his  mind  to  show  her  the
child.
He  did  not  quite  decide  what  he  should
say,  or  what  he  should  do,  when  the
recognition,  which  he  felt  sure  was  un-
avoidable, followed  the  sight  of  the
child ;  but  he  just  yielded  to  the  impulse
and  took  the  child  from  Mrs.  Gray's
arms  and  carried  her  round  to  the  back
door.  The  recognition  was  even  more
instantaneous  than  he  had  expected.
