e girl beyond clearing up the room had
nothing to do, and she devoted herself with enthusiasm to this work.
Once she had mastered simple words and felt her own progress, her
shyness as to her ignorance left her. She always carried her book in her
pocket, and took to asking girls the pronunciation of larger words, and
begging them to read a few lines to her; and sitting on the door-step
poring over her book, she would salute any passer-by with: "Please tell
us what is that word." When she could read easily, which she learned to
do in two or three months, she borrowed left-off school-books from the
girls, and worked slowly on, and two years later had made up for all her
early deficiencies, and knew as much as any of those who had passed
through the school.

From the day of her compact of friendship with Jack her appearance and
demeanour had been gradually changing. From the first her wild unkempt
hair had been smoothly combed and braided, though none but herself knew
what hours of pain and trouble it took her with a bit of a comb with
three teeth alone remaining, to reduce the tangled mass of hair to
order.

Her companions stared indeed with wonder on the first afternoon, when,
thus transformed and with clean face, she came among them, with a new
feeling of shyness.

"Why, it be Nelly Hardy!" "Why, Nell, what ha' done to t'yself? I
shouldn't ha' known ye." "Well, ye be cleaned up surely."

The girl was half inclined to flame out at their greetings, but she knew
that the surprise was natural, and laughed good-humouredly. She was
rewarded for her pains when Jack and some other boys, passing on their
way to play, Jack stopped a moment and said to her quietly, "Well done,
lass, thou lookst rarely, who'd ha' thought thou wert so comely!"

As time went on Nelly Hardy grew altogether out of her old self.
Sometimes, indeed, bursts of temper, such as those which had gained her
the name of the "Wild Cat," would flare out, but these were very rare
now. She was still very poorly dressed, for her house was as wretched
as of old, but there was an attempt at tidiness. Her manner, too, was
softer, and it became more and more quiet as things went on, and her
playmates wondered again and again what had come over Nell Hardy; she
had got to be as quiet as a mouse.

The boys at first were disposed to joke Jack upon this strange
friendship, but Jack soon let it be understood that upon that subject
joking was unacceptable.

"She stood