village and struck out upon the country road with his long escort before
him. The crowd was quick to catch the courteous intention of the victors,
and followed them with applause as far beyond the village borders as wind
and limb would allow; but the last noisy boy had dropped off breathless
before they reached a half-finished house in the edge of some woods. A
line of little children was drawn up by the road-side before it, who
watched the retinue with grave eagerness, till the Middlemount coach came
in full sight. Then they sprang into the air, and beating their hands
together, screamed, "Clem! Clem! Oh it's Clem!" and jumped up and down,
and a shabby looking work worn woman came round the corner of the house
and stared up at Clementina waving her banner wildly to the children, and
shouting unintelligible words to them. The young people on the coach
joined in response to the children, some simply, some ironically, and one
of the men caught up a great wreath of flowers which lay at Clementina's
feet, and flung it down to them; the shabby woman quickly vanished round
the corner of the house again. Mrs. Milray leaned over to ask the
landlord, "Who in the world are Clementina's friends?"

"Why don't you know?" he retorted in abated voice. "Them's her brothas
and sistas."

"And that woman?"

"The lady at the conna? That's her motha."

When the event was over, and all the things had been said and said again,
and there was nothing more to keep the spring and summer months from
going up to their rooms to lie down, and the fall and winter months from
trying to get something to eat, Mrs. Milray found herself alone with
Clementina.