Arabella | Page 3

their costumes, she felt that her surmise was correct, and she touched Mrs. Christie upon the arm. The latter started up, confused for the moment, and uncertain of her whereabouts, while the train thundered on through the tunnel, and the brakeman, hurrying through the cars, announced:
"New York."
That was a thrilling moment, though with Arabella the awe just then predominated over the joy. She clung closely to her companion, as the latter summoned to her aid all her native energy. Together they threaded their way through the dizzying crowds. One of their acquaintances, the son of a neighboring farmer, who by reason of his business as a commercial traveller was held in great repute, advanced to Mrs. Christie, inquired with kindly interest as to her destination, and made an offer, which was eagerly accepted, to put them both on board the cable car. This, he explained, would take them to their very door. He carried his solicitude so far as to give a friendly hint to the conductor, who promised to look after the two women.
They were a quaint and somewhat forlorn-looking pair in their countrified costumes, both of which had been resurrected and bore evident marks of being months behind the fashion. Of this they were thus far happily unconscious. The cable car pursued its way along Forty-second Street, turning downwards at Third Avenue. The noises seemed deafening to Arabella, the crowds terrifying. She glanced, from time to time, at Mrs. Christie, who sat bolt upright, never moving a muscle, and looked as if she were undergoing a terrible ordeal. When they had gone a few blocks down Third Avenue, the conductor, jerking the bell, cried:
"Here you are!"
To this address no one responded, but each began to look at his neighbor to know for whom it was meant. At last the functionary, striding towards the two unconscious women, informed them, with a certain gruff kindness, that "here was their street."
The passengers descended and stood looking helplessly about them. The car sped on its way, and Mrs. Christie said to Arabella:
"My sister lives in that street, quite close to the corner."
But which corner? They surveyed each one in turn. On one corner was a thriving grocery, and next door to it a tall tenement. On another a big department store, extending nearly half the block and closed for the night. A third was a liquor store with a red light burning at the door and sounds of revelry from within, which caused the two women to turn away. The fourth was a small and dingy dwelling, which somehow looked more encouraging.
"I guess it's the second door after that," Mrs. Christie exclaimed. "Let's try it, anyhow." They both brightened up at the bare prospect that this might be their destination, and paused in front of a small structure, the lower story of which consisted of a bright-looking fruit shop. Therein they found a clean and civil German woman, and with her aid discovered that the number over the door, obscured by the darkness, corresponded to that which Mrs. Christie had inscribed upon a slip of paper. The rosy and benignant mistress of the shop further informed them that the Fraulein Norris lived upstairs, and came out to show them a neighboring door and a narrow staircase, which led to her quarters.
Mrs. Christie thanked her cordially, and following the given directions, mounted a pair of clean and freshly-painted stairs, covered with a bright- colored jute carpet. They presently found themselves at a door, and quite unacquainted with the use of the electric bell indicated by the button at the side, Mrs. Christie braced herself for action. She had already recovered much of her resolute and energetic bearing, and as Arabella hung in the background she knocked loudly at the door.
There was no answer at all for a moment or two, and Arabella's heart began to sink. she felt that if this were the wrong place, and if they were really lost in the wilderness of the great city, she could not go out again into that darkness, now and again relieved as it was by those glaring lights, or that silence alternating with hideous clamor. Suppose, thought she, that there was no Miss Norris here, or that she was even more formidable than Arabella, until this memorable day, had held Mrs. Christie to be. The prospect was terrifying.
Moreover, the girl, strong as she was, began to feel utterly weary. Unwonted excitement is a sure cause of fatigue, and the emotions of the day had been so many and varied as to produce a complete exhaustion and an almost paralyzing numbness She had also eaten less than usual in the hurry of departure, and felt both hungry and weak. In her present mood Arabella was convinced that she hated the big city, with its