CHAPTER VII 53
plain face did not look quite as sour at this moment as it had done the first morning she saw it. It looked just a trifle like little Susan Ann ' s when she wanted something very much.
" I ' ll ask my mother about it," she said. " She ' s one o ' them that nearly always sees a way to do things. It ' s my day out to-day an ' I ' m goin ' home. Eh! I am glad. Mrs. Medlock thinks a lot o ' mother. Perhaps she could talk to her."
" I like your mother," said Mary. " I should think tha ' did," agreed Martha, polishing away. " I ' ve never seen her," said Mary. " No, tha ' hasn ' t," replied Martha.
She sat up on her heels again and rubbed the end of her nose with the back of her hand as if puzzled for a moment, but she ended quite positively.
" Well, she ' s that sensible an ' hard workin ' an ' good-natured an ' clean that no one could help likin ' her whether they ' d seen her or not. When I ' m goin ' home to her on my day out I just jump for joy when I ' m crossin ' th ' moor."
" I like Dickon," added Mary. " And I ' ve never seen him."
" Well," said Martha stoutly, " I ' ve told thee that th ' very birds likes him an ' th ' rabbits an ' wild sheep an ' ponies, an ' th ' foxes themselves. I wonder," staring at her reflectively, " what Dickon would think of thee?"
" He wouldn ' t like me," said Mary in her stiff, cold little way. " No one does."
Martha looked reflective again.
" How does tha ' like thysel '?" she inquired, really quite as if she were curious to know.