CHAPTER V.

WINNY'S SACRIFICE.

RUTTER'S sudden death was pretty freely discussed among the neighbours, and very little pity was expressed for his untimely fate by anybody but Winny Chaplin, and she drew nearer to Lizzie, to shield her as it were from the hard criticism of the neighbourhood. They moved back to their old house as soon after the funeral as they could, and the week after this, Annie came home from prison.

Her coming, so eagerly looked forward to by her father, was a pain to everybody who knew her. Winny had planned with Brown how the home-coming should be managed. He was to meet her at the prison gates and bring her straight home to Winny first, for the stigma of having been in prison would be sure to cling to her and make some of her old friends avoid her for a time. So Winny was determined to help the girl if she could. But no one was prepared for the fierce, proud bearing of the girl, who felt herself wronged and yet degraded by being sent to prison. She would not see anyone, she declared, she would not come near the place to be stared at, she would even have left her father if she could, and it was not until dusk that he could coax her back to her home with him.

Winny had been on the watch for her all day, for she had a piece of news to impart to Annie, something they had talked of together very often. Her teacher, Miss Lavender, had at last been able to get a ticket for her to go away into the country for a fortnight, and she wanted to tell Annie about it. They could talk about this and forget all about the dreadful prison, she thought. For Annie had not certainly deserved such a severe sentence, she was sure, and the sooner it was all forgotten, like a bad dream, the better for everybody.

But Annie did not come home until it was so late that Winny began to fear she would not come at all, and that something must have happened to her or her father. She was determined to see her, however, and so she had the door set wide open that she might not be able to pass the landing without being seen.

[Illustration: THE GIRL LOOKED ALMOST SAVAGE IN HER WILDNESS.]

At last weary, dragging footsteps were heard ascending the stairs, and then Winny called out: "Come in and see me, Annie, I have been looking out for you all day."

"Yes, to be sure, you must go and see Winny," said Brown in a coaxing tone. And then the footsteps paused, and a wild white face peeped into the room to see if there was anybody else to be seen.

But Mrs. Chaplin and Letty had gone to a meeting at the mission room, and as Chaplin was often out until nine or ten o'clock now, Winny was all alone.

Finding this was the case, Annie stole in, and Winny, looking at her, was almost frightened at the change she saw. The girl looked almost savage in her wildness.

"Oh, Annie, wouldn't you like to go into the country for a bit, just to see the green fields?" said Winny hardly knowing what she said.

"What's the good of asking me that?" said the girl fiercely. "I'm more likely to go to prison again, for I hate everybody and everything now."

"No, no, Annie, you must not do that, for see, people have thought about you, and I have got a ticket for you to go into the country next week, and you can stay for a fortnight too."

Annie stared. "Do you mean it, Winny Chaplin?" she asked solemnly.

To have a ticket for this country holiday would be to rehabilitate her in public opinion, to wipe out the disgrace of her imprisonment, and she clutched Winny's hand and looked into her eyes as if she would read her very soul.

"Look here, Winny," she said, "if that could be true, I think I could believe in God, though he does let men like Rutter get rich and people like you be poor. I could believe he cared for me a little bit, if he'd let me go away for a bit like that, for I could come back then and go to my work again."

"You shall believe it, Annie, for you shall go," said Winny in an earnest tone.

And then Annie dropped her head upon the fragile shoulder and burst into such a passionate flood of tears that Winny was fairly frightened. And Brown, who had stood near the door scratching his head in perplexity, now came forward to comfort his "little un," but hardly knew what to say, for both girls were sobbing together, Winny dimly understanding how her companion felt, and grieving for the uncontrolled passion that could drive a girl into the commission of a crime that brought such a punishment.

The same ungoverned nature that made her throw the glass of beer at Rutter, now made her give herself up to such emotion that at last Winny had to beg her to be still.

And the piteous entreaty in the invalid's voice made itself heard through all the tumult of the storm that was raging in Annie's mind. With a mighty effort, she stayed her tears a little, and then fell to kissing Winny until she was almost calm again. Then she whispered: "God bless you, God bless you, Winny. I know it's you who have given me this chance to get back my character. I never thought I should have such a chance a little while ago."

"You must thank God for it, Annie, and believe he does love you as well as me," said Winny quickly.

She wanted to get rid of her now, for fear she should ask inconvenient questions which Winny could not answer truthfully just at present. She was glad her mother and sister were not at home just now, or they would certainly have spoiled the whole by asking some question impossible to answer. As it was, her task would be difficult enough, she knew, but she was determined to carry out the self-sacrificing plan that had suggested itself to her mind, let it cost what it might.

Of course the holiday ticket she had promised to Annie was what had been given to herself, but she did not doubt that the sudden self-sacrificing plan which had suggested itself to her mind had come by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, and as such must be obeyed. Not that she had any desire to rebel in her cooler moments, but she did not hide from herself the fact, that to give up this long-desired holiday would be a bitter disappointment to her, and it might be that her mother would not see that it was a duty at all.

This was the most difficult part of her plan. She must not only stifle her own heart's longings, but argue against herself. Then there would be Miss Lavender to convince as well as her mother and father; but she had more hope of doing this, for the lady's whole life was given up to the work of helping and comforting her poorer neighbours.

Not a man or woman in the place for miles round but had heard of Miss Lavender. "Sweet Lavender" some of the rougher boys called her, though there was not one of them, rough as they were, but would stop into the road that their friend might walk on the footpath in comfort. Scarcely a home existed but had to be thankful for some timely help from this lady.

She and a few of her friends round this poverty-stricken neighbourhood had provided a place where men, and boys, and girls could spend a quiet hour, or a merry hour of an evening if their homes were too small or too miserable, as so many of them were, for them to get a chance of this under their own roofs. Then when the pinch of poverty had been extra keen during the winter, she and they had managed to feed men, women, and children, not only with penny dinners, but free breakfasts and often festival teas, when, after a good meal, they could, for an hour or two at least, forget hunger and cold and all the misery of their lives.

Yes, Winny thought Miss Lavender would be able to understand and sympathize in her desire to help Annie, for she would know that she was only reducing to practice what the lady had so often taught her, as being the Christ-life which all his followers were bound to copy.

She was sure, though, that the lady would feel disappointed, for it was not easy to get these fortnightly tickets, for there were so many who needed them, and for each ticket available, there were sure to be half a dozen deserving claimants. So she resolved to send Letty round to Miss Lavender when she came in, and ask her to come and see her the first thing in the morning.

Her mother was going to clean up at Mrs. Rutter's, and so she would see the lady first while her mother was out, and thus have the matter settled beyond dispute, and by this means, it would be more easily got over.

But Winny found the lady more hard to convince than she had expected. She had not known much more of Winny than of the rest of her class until she was laid up; but the girl's quiet patience, which touched the heart of every one who knew her, had made her doubly dear to her teacher, and one of the first tickets issued she had secured for her favourite, that she might start for this summer holiday early in the season. So that her request that Annie Brown, a girl she did not know, and one who had just come out of prison too, might have this one chance to go away, did not please her at all at first.

"But, teacher, Jesus came to seek and to save those who were lost," said Winny. "This poor Annie looked so lost and hopeless when she came home last night, that I could not help telling her that she should go away into the country."

"Did she know it was your ticket she was to have?" asked the lady a little severely.

Winny opened her eyes at the question. "No, indeed, and she must not know it either, or she would not go. People don't know Annie; she is rough, and don't mind much what she says or does when she is angry, but she would not let me do this if she thought she was taking my chance, I can tell you."

The lady was a little more reconciled to the plan when she heard this. "I hope she is worth the sacrifice, Winny," she said, "for I shall not be able to get another ticket for you."

"Of course not; I am giving up my chance to Annie, and so, of course, I can't give her the ticket and go away myself."

"That is just it, Winny, and so I think you ought to consider the matter very carefully before you finally decide."

"I did, teacher. In the night I often lie awake with the pain in my back, and it's then my best thoughts come. God seems to speak to me then, and he made it quite clear to me last night, that what I thought of doing for Annie Brown was just what he would have me do, and so you see—"

"Yes, yes, dear child, I do see, and I will not say one word more against your wish," interrupted the lady. "It is not as I would have had it, but you are bound to follow God's bidding as much as I am, and if he has said 'Do this,' doubtless he has his reasons, and will make it plain to us by and by. I will take the ticket I brought for you yesterday, and if you will send Letty round when she comes home from school, I will give her one made out in the name of Annie Brown. She must go next Monday, you know," she added as she rose from her seat to take her departure.

Letty was sent at twelve o'clock to Miss Lavender's, and the lady sent not only the holiday ticket, but a dinner ticket for both girls; for Letty was not so reticent as her sister, and told the lady, in answer to her questions, that they seldom had but two meals a day, for the work at the docks seemed to be getting worse and worse.

Letty was too full of delight at the prospect of having an extra meal and bringing one home for Winny to inquire what the envelope contained, but she would have been bitterly disappointed if she had known it, for she had told most of her schoolfellows that her sister Winny was going away to the country, and she might be able to walk when she came home. She told Winny just before she went to her dinner that all the girls were very glad she was going, and some of them were coming to see her, and wish her good-bye.

"I wish you hadn't said anything about it," said Winny, and her sister stared at the tone in which the words were spoken, for it was very rarely that Winny spoke so crossly.

"Why shouldn't I tell them? You was going to tell Annie Brown about it," retorted Letty.

"Well, don't say any more about it, especially to Annie Brown if she should happen to come in."

"As if I should talk to a girl who has been to prison," said Letty, tossing her head and looking very disdainful.

"How dare you talk like that?" exclaimed Winny angrily. "You know nothing about such things, and it is not fair to Annie—"

"To say she has been to prison?" interrupted Letty. "Why, everybody knows it, and knows she must be a bad girl, or else she would not be sent there; all the girls have been talking about it, and of course they know. They say she used to get into awful passions when she went to school, and this is what comes of it."

"Then mind you never get into a passion," said Winny, but she spoke so angrily that she might fairly be accused of committing the fault she was warning her sister against.

Letty never remembered Winny speaking to her in this way before, and although she would not own it, either to herself or her sister, she really felt greatly concerned about it. And before she went to school in the afternoon, she said in a more gentle tone, "Don't you feel well, Winny dear?"

"Yes, I think I feel better than I do sometimes," said the invalid; "perhaps I shall get well without going away," she added, looking at Letty, and wondering whether she had better tell her what she had done about this holiday.

This was the worst part of the whole business to Winny, the telling people she was not going away after all, more especially as she was anxious that Annie should know nothing about this just now. She would hear about it by and by, that was inevitable, but if she could only keep her secret from being talked of for the next few days Annie would hear nothing about it until she came back.

As soon as Letty had gone to school, Annie ventured downstairs. "You've had a lot of people to see you this morning," she said as she came in; "I wanted to come in before, but I could hear people talking every time I came and listened."

"Oh, Mrs. Price came in, and little Jimmy Rowe, and my teacher, Miss Lavender. I wish you had come in while she was here, Annie; you could not help loving her."

"Oh, I've heard about her," said the girl; "but I don't love people as quick as you do. Of course, we know she got the boys their gymnasium, and gives the little uns the breakfasts and dinners in the winter, and I don't wonder that people say she's good; but me and father ain't the sort of people Miss Lavender likes, and so I can't be expected to like her."

"But it was she who gave me the ticket for you to go into the country," said Winny.

"Did she, now? Well, I wonder at that. Did you tell her about me? Have you got the ticket?" she asked eagerly.

"Yes, you shall have it. See, your name is written on it, so you see there can be no mistake," and she took the card from its envelope as she spoke, and gave it to Annie to read.

There was her name sure enough, and the girl's face changed, and a softened look came into her eyes as she gazed. It was more to her than a mere holiday ticket, great as this treat must be to her. It held all sorts of possibilities for her in the future, and not least the power of hope that even now began to dawn in her heart.

Hearing her father's footstep on the stairs, she ran to the door and pulled him in to see her treasure. "I've got it! I've got it!" she said holding up the card triumphantly. "I must buy some soap to-night and wash and mend all my clothes ready to go away on Monday."

Brown was scarcely less delighted than Annie herself. He read his daughter's name written there with as much pride as though it had been her patent of nobility, and Winny hoped no one would tell either of them how the card had been obtained.

"Letty shall fetch the soap for you when she comes in," she said, for she did not want them to go talking about this at the shop just now, for as Letty had been telling the girls at school that she was going away, it might cause awkward questions to be asked.

The offer of Letty's help to run errands was very gladly accepted, for Annie was by no means anxious to meet any of her old friends so soon after her release from prison.

By the time she came back from the country, her former absence might be forgotten, or at all events that she was deemed worthy to receive one of these holiday tickets would go far to redeem her character, and so she had no wish to see anybody if she could avoid doing so.

By this means, she heard nothing of the talk about Winny Chaplin going into the country, and few heard that the plan had been given up beyond Mrs. Chaplin, and, of course, she had to be told.

It was the hardest part of Winny's task to have to tell her mother. Mrs. Chaplin could not or would not see that there was any need for such a sacrifice as this. Annie Brown was nothing to them. A rude rough girl at the best, who had got herself into trouble through her uncontrolled temper; why should Winny give up her chance of health for a girl like this? If she had been a gentle, respectable girl, who went to Sunday-school, and behaved herself in a proper manner, there might be some reason in Winny giving up to her if she had happened to need it more than herself, but as it was, the notion was altogether most foolish.

This was the way Mrs. Chaplin argued, and Letty followed in her mother's lead, and actually cried over it, she felt so disappointed. It was just what Winny had expected, and for a time her mother could not be persuaded to see the matter in any other light.

Fortunately for everybody, Annie was too busy washing and mending her clothes to come downstairs much, and Brown was either out looking for work or sitting with Annie, as she was to leave him so soon again, and so to Winny's relief, the time went and Monday morning came without a word being said to Annie about her journey to the country.