There came, scuffling along the field-path from the village, as fast as her dilapidated shoes permitted her, a wan-looking, undersized girl. She had almost reached the pond, when a boy considerably taller and stronger than the boy on the stile came flying down the field on the left, and planted himself in her way.
"Now then, little toad! Do you want another buffeting?"
"Oh, please, sir, don't stop me!" she cried, beginning to sob loudly. "Father's dying, and mother said I was to run and tell them at the farm. Please let me go by."
"Did I not order you yesterday to keep out of these fields?" asked the tall boy. "The lane and roads are open to you; how dare you come this way? I promised you I'd shake the inside out of you if I caught you here again, and now I'll do it."
"I say," called out at this juncture the lad on the stile, "keep your hands off her."
The child's assailant turned sharply at the sound. He had not seen that any one was there.
Author Biography
llen Wood (1814 - 1887), was an English novelist, better known as Mrs. Henry Wood. She is remembered most for her 1861 novel East Lynne, but many of her books became international bestsellers and widely known in the United States. She surpassed the fame of Charles Dickens in Australia. In 1836 she married Henry Wood, who worked in the banking and shipping trade in Dauphin in the South of France, where they lived for 20 years. On the failure of Wood's business, the family (including four children) returned to England and settled in Upper Norwood near London, where Ellen Wood turned to writing. This supported the family after Henry Wood died in 1866. She wrote over 30 novels, many of which (especially East Lynne) enjoyed remarkable popularity. Among the best known are Danesbury House, Oswald Cray, Mrs. Halliburton's Troubles, The Channings, Lord Oakburn's Daughters and The Shadow of Ashlydyat. Her writing tone would be described as "conservative and Christian," occasionally expressing religious rhetoric. In 1867, Wood purchased the English magazine Argosy, which had been founded by Alexander Strahan in 1865. Wood continued as its editor until her death in 1887, when her son Charles Wood took over. Wood's works were translated into many languages, including French and Russian. Leo Tolstoy, in a March 1872 letter to his older brother Sergei, noted that he was "reading Mrs. Wood's wonderful novel In the Maze." Wood wrote several works of supernatural fiction, including "The Ghost" (1862) and the often anthologized "Reality or Delusion?" (1868).
