were to come there with her again he
would either go to war, or hunt wild beasts, or do some other disturbing
thing to disagree with the order of the furniture, and she herself, Terry,
would be sure to be in the middle of the worst of it. So she resolutely
held to her book, that Nancy might not be so likely to remember the
practising.

When the children were left alone, however, they soon began to talk.

"I say, Terry," said Turly, "isn't the house awfully quiet? You wouldn't
think there was any kitchen or places downstairs, because they make no
noise. At school you are always hearing things, doors banging and voices
speaking, and you can smell the dinner. It's a very quiet place, Gran'ma's
is. There's no smell, and there's no sound."

"It's very far downstairs here, you know," said Terry sagaciously. "It's a
big house. And we do smell our own dinner when it comes up. Now, don't we,
Turly?"

"Oh, yes!" said Turly, yawning; "but I like to know all that is happening
to everybody. I say, Terry, do you know there's another story of house
above the part we're living in?"

"Two stories," said Terry.

"Have you never been up in them?" said Turly.

"No," said Terry. "I peeped up the stairs once or twice, but it looked
rather lonely, so I didn't care to."

"I think it would be great fun to go up and see what they're like," said
Turly.

"Some of them are servants' bedrooms," said Terry. "But there are other
parts besides, I know."

"Do come up and see, Terry."

"There might be a ghost."

"If there is, I'll soon knock him on the head," said Turly. "I'll take the
poker with me."

"Oh, you silly! The poker would pass through him. They have no bodies."

"Then they couldn't hurt us," said Turly, "so who cares? But there might
be rats, so I'll just take the poker with me."

"I don't like rats," said Terry; "and mind, Turly, it's you this time, if
anything goes wrong."

"Now, I hope you're not going to turn into a common girl, Terry," said
Turly. "You used to be such a brick."

All this made Terry feel that she couldn't possibly be going wrong to-day.
Turly was always said to be good, and he was reproaching her with too much
goodness. They might just go up the stair and take a look around. There
couldn't be any harm in it.

Still, they went very softly for fear of being overheard. It would be so
disappointing if Nursey were just to come out of Gran'ma's room and say
"Come back, children!"

Up the stair they we