e, unless you drive on a bit, _or_ turn in the stable-yard. You see
it was a good thing for the girls that I'd been there before, and knew
all the ins and outs of the place, wasn't it?

It _was_ fun showing them the rooms and everything. And even though I
had described them as particularly as I could, they all declared--nurse
too--that I hadn't made them out half nice enough. I was glad of that.

We had plenty of time to poke about, because the luggage hadn't yet
come. And Mrs. Parsley had tea set out all ready; she wasn't one of
those horrid landladies who won't give anything at the first start for
fear they should possibly not be paid back for it. I'm sure she never
charged anything for the cake she'd made us, and the jam and honey, that
first night, though there was precious little over of any of them when
we'd finished.

CHAPTER X

A LONG AGO ADVENTURE

We were very busy and happy the next morning getting all our things
settled, and making the summer kitchen look as pretty as we could. We
had brought one or two folding chairs and some rugs and table-covers to
brighten it up, and it did look very nice indeed.

It was a good thing we were taken up that way, for--wasn't it
provoking?--that first day it took it into its head to rain! All the
morning at least, though it cleared up about our dinner-time. But it was
very tiresome, for though it was quite mild, it was of course damp under
foot, and nurse wouldn't hear of us going a nice scrambly walk as we had
planned. And she would come with us. I daresay she was right, but it was
a bore.

'Which way shall we go, Jack?' said Anne, when we were all ready to
start and nurse had satisfied herself that the girls had all got their
thickest boots on, and waterproofs and umbrellas in case it came on to
rain again.

Nurse had been consulting Mrs. Parsley, I'm sure.

'We must keep to the high-road,' she said. 'It dries up very quickly as
it's a sandy soil.'

'Anne wasn't asking you, nurse,' said Serry rather pertly. 'She was
asking Jack.'

'All the same, Miss Serena, I must do my duty,' said nurse. 'I am in
charge of you, and your mamma wouldn't be pleased if I let you all go
stravaging over the wet fields to get bad colds and pleurisys and
newmens, and what not.'

'Newmens,' said Anne, 'what _do_ you mean?'

But nurse was put out, and wouldn't explain. It wasn't till some time
after that we found out she meant that bad kind of cold on your chest
that cows