`` I 'm going up to see what it is , '' said Jerry resolutely . `` Oh , do n't , '' begged Una , catching his arm . `` I 'm going . '' `` We 'll all go , too , then , '' said Faith . The whole four climbed the shaky ladder , Jerry and Faith quite dauntless , Una pale from fright , and Carl rather absent-mindedly speculating on the possibility of finding a bat up in the loft . He longed to see a bat in daylight . When they stepped off the ladder they saw what had made the rustle and the sight struck them dumb for a few moments . In a little nest in the hay a girl was curled up , looking as if she had just wakened from sleep . When she saw them she stood up , rather shakily , as it seemed , and in the bright sunlight that streamed through the cobwebbed window behind her , they saw that her thin , sunburned face was very pale under its tan . She had two braids of lank , thick , tow-coloured hair and very odd eyes -- `` white eyes , '' the manse children thought , as she stared at them half defiantly , half piteously . They were really of so pale a blue that they did seem almost white , especially when contrasted with the narrow black ring that circled the iris . She was barefooted and bareheaded , and was clad in a faded , ragged , old plaid dress , much too short and tight for her . As for years , she might have been almost any age , judging from her wizened little face , but her height seemed to be somewhere in the neighbourhood of twelve . `` Who are you ? '' asked Jerry . The girl looked about her as if seeking a way of escape . Then she seemed to give in with a little shiver of despair . `` I 'm Mary Vance , '' she said . `` Where 'd you come from ? '' pursued Jerry .
Mary , instead of replying , suddenly sat , or fell , down on the hay and began XXXXX cry .
as at behind for in of on through to with