CHAPTER IX 



The party returned to the station by 

 diil'erent ways, that chosen by Slaney and 

 Bunbury involving a good deal of wander- 

 ing by dark and intricate paths in the 

 hollow of the wood before the high road 

 again was reached. The other half of the 

 picnic was not in sight ; and when Slaney 

 and her companion arrived at the station, 

 the engine and brake van, in which they 

 had come, had disappeared, and in their 

 place was another engine that had come up 

 the line with a train of trucks. It was a 

 small and very dirty engine, the driver's 

 white jumper was as grimy as his face, and 

 coal-dust and oil had gone hand-in-hand to 

 effect a general and thorough defilement. 



The ganger explained the position respect- 

 113 I 



