a strange country, and had to look twice for turnings which she
could easily have found with her eyes shut. The shutters were up in
all the shops and the blinds were down in most of the windows. Now and
again a milk cart came clattering and rattling down a street, and now
and again a big red-painted baker's cart dashed along the road. Such
few pedestrians as she met were poorly dressed men, who carried tommy
cans and tools, and they were all walking at a great pace, as if they
feared they were late for somewhere. Three or four boys passed her
running; one of these had a great lump of bread in his hand, and as he
ran he tore pieces off the bread with his teeth and ate them. The
streets looked cleaner than she had thought they could look, and the
houses seemed very quiet and beautiful. When she came near a policeman
she looked at him keenly from a distance, hoping and fearing that it
might be her friend, but she did not see him. She had a sinking
feeling at the thought that maybe he would be in the Phoenix Park
this day looking for her, and might, indeed, have been there for the
past few days, and the thought that he might be seeking for her
unavailingly stabbed through her mind like a pain. It did not seem
right, it was not in proportion, that so big a man should seek for a
mere woman and not find one instantly to hand. It was pitiful to think
of the huge man looking on this side and on that, peering behind trees
and through distances, and thinking that maybe he was forgotten or
scorned. Mary Makebelieve almost wept at the idea that he should fancy
she scorned him. She wondered how, under such circumstances, a small
girl can comfort a big man. One may fondle his hand, but that is
miserably inadequate. She wished she was twice as big as he was, so
that she might lift him bodily to her breast and snuggle and hug him
like a kitten. So comprehensive an embrace alone could atone for
injury to a big man's feelings.

In about twenty minutes she reached Mrs. O'Connor's house and knocked.
She had to knock half a dozen times before she was admitted, and on
being admitted had a great deal of trouble explaining who she was, and
why her mother had not come, and that she was quite competent to
undertake the work. She knew the person who opened the door for her
was not Mrs. O'Connor, because she had not a hairy wart on her chin,
nor had she buck teeth. After a little delay she was brought to the
scullery and given a great pile of chil