The yellow book: an illustrated quarterly (4.1895)

Margaret

By c. s.

The Street was feebly lighted, but by the glare from the public-
house at the corner I could see her coming towards me,
holding a jug in one hand and running the other along the
railings in front of the houses as a boy does a stick. She walked
swiftly but cautiously, and rather as if measuring a distance by
counting the paces. As I came nearer, she shrank against the
railings, and almost stopped ; but as soon as I had passed she went
on again more quickly than before. She must have heard me stop
to look after her ; for she paused for a moment, and turned her head
as if listening, and then glided on through the darkness into the
glare ; andi as she went into the public-house I caught sight of a
tangle of heavy golden hair hanging down her back.

Presently she came back, keeping close to the houses as before,
and in front of one of them about half-way down the Street she
stopped, and passed her hand along the tops of the railings as if
feeling for something. She seemed satisfied, and pushing open
the area gate went down the steps. “ Is that you, Maggie ? ”
cried a woman’s voice—and a flood of light came up from the
area. A door was hastily slammed, and all was dark again ; but
as I passed the house I noticed that the spike on the top of one of

the railings was missing.

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