indow. The
pale old schoolmaster sat smoking in the garden. He was a sad, solitary
man, and loved little Nell when he first saw her, because she was like a
favorite pupil he once had. He made them sleep in the school-room that
night, and he begged them to stay longer next day, but little Nell was
anxious to get as far as possible from London and from the dwarf, who
she was all the time in fear might find them. So they bade the
schoolmaster good-by and walked on.

Another day's journey left them so exhausted they could scarcely keep
moving. They had almost reached another village when they came to a tiny
painted house on wheels with horses to draw it. At its door sat a stout
lady wearing a large bonnet, taking tea with a big drum for a table.

The lady, as it happened, had seen them at the fair, and had wondered
then to see them in company with a Punch-and-Judy show. Noticing how
tired they were, she gave them tea and then took them into the wagon
with her to help them on their way.

The inside of the wagon was like a cozy room. It had a little bed in one
end, and a kitchen in the other, and had two curtained windows. As the
wheels rattled on the old man fell asleep, and the stout lady made
little Nell sit by her and talk. In the wagon was a big canvas sign that
read:

__________________________
| |
| JARLEY'S WAXWORK |
| ONE HUNDRED FIGURES |
| THE FULL SIZE OF LIFE |
| NOW EXHIBITED WITHIN |
|__________________________|

"I am Mrs. Jarley," the woman said, "and my waxwork is gone to the next
town, where it is to be exhibited." She thought little Nell and her
grandfather were in the show business, too, and when she found they were
not, that they had no home, and did not even know where they were going,
she held up her hands in astonishment.

But it was easy to see that they were not ordinary beggars, and she was
kind-hearted and wanted to help them. So, after much thought, she asked
little Nell if they would take a situation with her. She explained that
the child's duty would be to point out the wax figures to the visitors
and tell their names, while her grandfather could help dust them.

They accepted this offer very thankfully (for almost all the money they
had brought was now spent), and when the wagon arrived at the place of
exhibition and the waxwork had been set up, Mrs. Jarley put a long wand
in little Nell's hand and taught her