Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Ill HANNAH MAKES HER FIRST ENTRANCE ON THE LARGER SCENE IT was a raw and gusty morning in the early days of January when Hannah Mersey, having paid her mother a farewell visit, took her seat in the train at Paddington Station, and settled down in the corner to dream of Kyn Castle. The rain lashed the windows and pattered angrily on the roof of the carriage as the good express rattled through the misty country with thunderings worthy of Hannah's destination. It was impossible to see out of the streaming window, but she found in the gray glass, with the rushing, blurred country beyond, as fine a background for the gaudy colors o£ her dream as is given to the sleeper in the darkness of night. So she sat there, and piled her castle high into the air, till the rain ceased, the wind died down, and a watery sun cast thin shadows on the sodden land. The day was now wearing to afternoon, and some of the people in. the carriage had begun to eat hard-boiled eggs, biscuits, and sandwiches; but Hannah, with sandwiches in her bag on the rack, still sat looking out of the rain-spotted window, dreaming of the life that waited for her behind the stout walls of Kyn Castle. At last, long after the other passengers had ceased to munchtheir sandwiches and eggs, her own airy castle came toppling to the ground. The train slowed down, and presently pulled up at a small station. Hannah was in the midst of the castle-building when, as the train came with a jolt to a standstill, she heard the name of "Kyn" lustily shouted from the platform. With a start she jumped up, lowered the window with a bang, and then turned to lift her packages from the rack. "Allow me," said a strong voice behind her, and a hand went up to the rack and lifted down her parcel. Hannah noticed that the hand was very brown and...