Transcriber's Notes:
1. Page scan source:
http://www.archive.org/details/undyingpast00sudegoog
By the Same Author REGINA: OR THE SINS OF THE FATHERSTranslated byBeatrice MarshallCrown 8vo. Third Edition. |
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The mid-day sun beat fiercely on the much-trodden square in front of aprovincial railway station. The old white mare nodded drowsily betweenthe shafts of the yellow mailcart which rattled down from the littletown to meet every train. Two or three hotel omnibuses, paintedbrownish-grey, with mud-splashed wheels, also came clattering down thedusty boulevard, at the other end of which rose two stucco towers withtheir vanes piercing the deep blue of the July sky.
A clanging bell had already signalled the train's departure from theneighbouring station. The station-master put on his red cap, thebarmaid began to wipe with a duster the glass case protecting thecheese and other viands, and a couple of postmen crunched over thegravel, wheeling trucks containing letter-bags and parcels.
"Not a single soul inside again," grumbled the restaurant-managerthrough the waiting-room window, as he watched the hotel omnibus driveup. "What is the use of keeping beer cool if nobody comes to drink it?"
The barmaid nodded meditatively as she flicked the flies from a pile o