front.

'Be quaite, Maud,' whispered Madame, with an awful adjuration, which I do
not care to set down. 'They are teepsy; don't seem 'fraid.'

I _was_ afraid--terrified. The circle had now so narrowed that they might
have placed their hands on my shoulders.

'Pray, gentlemen, wat you want? _weel_ a you 'av the goodness to permit us
to go on?'

I now observed for the first time, with a kind of shock, that the shorter
of the two men, who prevented our advance, was the person who had accosted
me so offensively at Church Scarsdale. I pulled Madame by the arm,
whispering, 'Let us run.'

'Be quaite, my dear Maud,' was her only reply.

'I tell you what,' said the tall man, who had replaced his high hat more
jauntily than before on the side of his head, 'We've caught you now, fair
game, and we'll let you off on conditions. You must not be frightened,
Miss. Upon my honour and soul, I mean no mischief; do I, Lollipop? I call
him Lord Lollipop; it's only chaff, though; his name's Smith. Now, Lolly,
I vote we let the prisoners go, when we just introduce them to Mrs. Smith;
she's sitting in the carriage, and keeps Mr. S. here in precious good
order, I promise you. There's easy terms for you, eh, and we'll have a
glass o' curacoa round, and so part friends. Is it a bargain? Come!'

'Yes, Maud, we must go--wat matter?' whispered Madame vehemently.

'You shan't,' I said, instinctively terrified.

'You'll go with Ma'am, young 'un, won't you?' said Mr. Smith, as his
companion called him.

Madame was holding my arm, but I snatched it from her, and would have run;
the tall man, however, placed his arms round me and held me fast with an
affectation of playfulness, but his grip was hard enough to hurt me a good
deal. Being now thoroughly frightened, after an ineffectual struggle,
during which I heard Madame say, 'You fool, Maud, weel you come with me?
see wat you are doing,' I began to scream, shriek after shriek, which the
man attempted to drown with loud hooting, peals of laughter, forcing
his handkerchief against my mouth, while Madame continued to bawl her
exhortations to 'be quaite' in my ear.

'I'll lift her, I say!' said a gruff voice behind me.

But at this instant, wild with terror, I distinctly heard other voices
shouting. The men who surrounded me were instantly silent, and all looked
in the direction of the sound, now very near, and I screamed with redoubled
energy. The ruffian behind me thrust his great hand over m