was conscious only, at the moment, that they
were with her, forcing her to admit that the
gay path of variety down which she had been
hurrying of late had ended all abruptly in a
hopeless cul-de-sac. She could not see yet the
little friendly postern, with its arch of benediction
extinguished under the shadow of the
frowning wall, the latch already lifted, the sun
shining warmly through the chinks.

It is true, then, that she was dull enough to
accept the idea that Lady Humphrey was waiting
impatiently for her somewhere on a landing;
that perhaps Mr. Pierce might be ill; and the
fact that a somewhat strange-tongued
messenger, picked out of a long past century, had
been sent to fetch her, could not reasonably
startle in a place where for the last few hours
all ages had met together, all tongues had spoken
in chorus, all costumes had been worn, and all
manners had been practised. The longing for
escape and the habit of obedience were both
strong; and Hester rose with relief on the
instant, and put her hand on her conductor's arm.

Once fairly launched in the great crowd,
however, with her strange escort, she was not
long left in ignorance of her mistake. It
was plain that a group of mischievous young
wags had played a trick upon her. They had
observed her unprotected loneliness, and agreed
to make a pastime of her difficulty. He who
had so successfully imposed upon Hester had
been chosen for the office because of the
venerable appearance which his disguise presented.
When he emerged from the inner room where
he had played his part, with his prize upon his
arm, his companions gathered round him,
laughing and prating with a mischievous
delight.

"Oh, pray, sir!" cried Hester, turning in dismay
to her supposed protector, " take me back
to the room where you found me. I do not
know these gentlemen;—I cannot be the person
you came to seek!"

Her companion replied on the instant by
pulling off his long grey beard, his wig of snowy
hair, his mask, and exhibiting the laughing
roguish face and curly head of a youth not
more than eighteen years old.

"Not so fast, pretty Mistress Simplicity!"
he said, gaily. " Nay, you will never cut old
friends in such a heartless manner. And when
did you come up to the town, fair sweetheart?
And how are all the charming little cousins in
the country—  Miss Buttercup and Miss Daisy,
and the rest? And how does our champagne
taste, after your curds and cream?"

So he rattled on, evidently the wit of the
party, whilst his companions pressed close upon
his steps, laughing and applauding in ecstacy at
the fun. They were only a set of wild thoughtless
boys, who had drunk much more wine
than they were accustomed to, who ought to have
been at home learning their Greek for the tutor,
and who probably never would have entered
such a place had their mothers been consulted.
Perhaps had one of them taken time for a
thought, and glanced at the same moment at
Hester's frightened face, remembering that he
had a sister at home, the merry-making might
have ended much sooner than it did. But in
the midst of the present glow and hum of such
a crowd, the mystery of disguise and general
abandonment to shallow wit and mirth, as well
as with the fumes of wine and the madness of
unusual excitement in their brains, where was
the shadow of a chance that such wild young
scapegraces as these should pause to think?

Some friend must come and rescue Hester.
And where was there a friend to be found?
She looked right and left, but nowhere was
any person of her party to be discerned.
Numbers of people came crowding to the
staircase, to the doors, for it was wearing pretty
far into the morning. And Hester's tormentors
bent their steps towards the staircase. What
crazy plan, if any, was in their heads, where
they meant to take her, or where to leave her,
Hester was destined never to learn. The little
group, six flushed chattering boys, and one
pale, speechless girl, were swept into a corner
of a landing by a sudden pressure from the
crowd, and remained there wedged into their
places, unable even to move till some loosening
of the human mass might be felt.

Hester, during these minutes, gazed anxiously
up the staircase. The great lamps, swinging
in mid air, had grown useless, their flame had
waxed dim, for the pale green light of dawn
was coming streaming through a vast upper
window, with its pathetic suggestions about
anxious mothers and dying children, sickening
the gaudy colours on the walls, making the
painted beauties hurry on their masks, and the
showy gallants of the evening look haggard
and dishevelled and uncleanly. But by-and-by,
in the midst of the feverish faces, there
appeared one different from these, overtopping
most of the crowd, a quiet brave face, cool
brows, eyes unsuffused, a face going forth, not
ashamed to lift itself to look upon the sunrise,
accustomed to breathe a breezy atmosphere
suggestive of early rides when the first furrow
is getting ploughed of a morning. Hester saw
this good face coming down the staircase, and,
for the first time, the idea sprang up in her
mind, that she might appeal to a charitable
stranger for protection.

Whether she could ever have summoned
courage to do so is not known; does not
matter. Sir Archie Munro's wide-awake eye
caught the girl's frightened appealing look
directed towards him, and responding to it
interiorly like a true gentleman, he quietly so
guided his course through the crowd that the
girl soon found him, as if by accident, at her
side. Desperation was at her heart then, and
struggling to her lips. She need not be dragged
into the streets of London by these worse than
crazy youths. Sir Archie did not miss seeing
the half-lifted hand and eyelid, that only
wanted a little boldness to make a claim on his
protection. He met the glance firmly,
encouragingly, and a great promise of powerful
help shone out of his steady blue eyes.