as she could from the opposite side of the way. "Why did you run away from 'em?"
"I was frightened," answered Florence. "I didn’t know what I did. I thought they were with me. Where are they?"
The old woman took her by the wrist, and said, "I’ll show you."
She was a very ugly old woman, with red rims round her eyes, and a mouth that mumbled and chattered of itself when she was not speaking. She was miserably dressed, and carried some skins over her arm. She seemed to have followed Florence some little way at all events, for she had lost her breath; and this made her uglier still, as she stood trying to regain it: working her shrivelled yellow face and throat into all sorts of contortions.
Florence was afraid of her, and looked, hesitating, up the street, of which she had almost reached the bottom. It was a solitary place—more a back road than a street—and there was no one in it but her-self and the old woman.
"You needn’t be frightened now," said the old woman, still holding her tight. "Come along with me."
"I—I don’t know you. What’s your name?" asked Florence.
"Mrs Brown," said the old woman. "Good Mrs Brown."
"Are they near here?" asked Florence, beginning to be led away.
"Susan ain’t far off," said Good Mrs Brown; "and the others are close to her."
"Is anybody hurt?" cried Florence.
"Not a bit of it," said Good Mrs Brown.
The child shed tears of delight on hearing this, and accompanied the old woman willingly; though she could not help glancing at her face as they went along—particularly at that industrious mouth—and wondering whether Bad Mrs Brown, if there were such a person, was at all like her.
They had not gone far, but had gone by some very uncomfortable places, such as brick-fields and tile-yards, when the old woman turned down a dirty lane, where the mud lay in deep black ruts in the middle of the road. She stopped before a shabby little house, as closely shut up as a house that was full of cracks and crevices could be. Opening the door with a key she took out of her bonnet, she pushed the child before her into a back room, where there was a great heap of rags of different colours lying on the floor; a heap of bones, and a heap of sifted dust or cinders; but there was no furniture at all, and the walls and ceiling were quite black.
The child became so terrified the she was stricken speechless, and looked as though about to swoon.
"Now don’t be a young mule," said Good Mrs Brown, reviving her with a shake. "I’m not a going to hurt you. Sit upon the rags."
Florence obeyed her, holding out her folded hands, in mute supplication.
"I’m not a going to keep you, even, above an hour," said Mrs Brown. "D’ye understand what I say?"
The child answered with great difficulty, "Yes."
"Then," said Good Mrs Brown, taking her own seat on the bones, "don’t vex me. If you don’t, I tell you I won’t hurt you. But if you do, I’ll kill you. I could have you killed at any time—even if you was
