And so the long, hot afternoon passed away, and the train sped on toward its destination, while the mother and the child slept, happily unconscious of the strange fate that awaited them in that city, of which the spires and walls were even now visible, bathed in the red light of the evening sun.
CHAPTER II
TONY GOES WITH LADY JANE
And now that the end of the journey was so near, the drowsy passengers began to bestir themselves. In order to look a little more presentable, dusty faces and hands were hastily wiped, frowsy heads were smoothed, tumbled hats and bonnets were arranged, and even the fretful babies, pulled and coaxed into shape, looked less miserable in their soiled garments, while their mothers wore an expression of mingled relief and expectation.
Lady Jane did not open her eyes until her companion gently tried to disengage Tony from her clasp in order to consign him to his basket; then she looked up with a smile of surprise at her mother, who was bending over her. “Why, mama,” she said brightly, “I’ve been asleep, and I had such a lovely dream; I thought I was at the ranch, and the blue heron was there too. Oh, I’m sorry it was only a dream!”
“My dear, you must thank this kind young gentleman for his care of you. We are near New Orleans now, and the bird must go to his basket. Come, let me smooth your hair and put on your hat.”
“But, mama, am I to have Tony?”
The boy was tying the cover over the basket, and, at the child’s question, he looked at the mother entreatingly. “It will amuse her,” he said, “and it’ll be no trouble. May she have it?”
“I suppose I must consent; she has set her heart on it.”
The boy held out the little basket, and Lady Jane grasped it rapturously.
“Oh, how good you are!” she cried. “I’ll never, never forget you, and I’ll love Tony always.”