ge wedding and little girls strewing in
the path of a noble one-armed hero and a bride, white as a lily save for
her crown of burnished hair, when Irene returned, and with a little sigh
of weariness dropped on the ground beside her.

"We can't find him," she sighed, "and those poor babies are breaking their
hearts. What can we do?" Irene was really distressed, but Audrey, with
her eyes fixed on the horseman, and her thoughts on the story she might
write, had none left for sympathy with two children and a lost rabbit.

"Oh, he is quite old," she cried involuntarily. The rider was near enough
now for her to see that his hair was grey and--oh, horror, that he had a
beard!

Irene looked up in surprise. "Who?" she inquired, "Nibbler?" Then her
eyes followed Audrey's, and with a cry of delight and surprise she sprang
to her feet. "Why, it's grandfather!" and ran forward to meet him.

Audrey was glad that she did so--she was glad to be alone for one moment,
in which to recover herself. Oh how thankful she was that no one could
read her thoughts, how thankful that no one knew what she had been
thinking. She saw the rider dismount and greet Irene, she saw Irene tuck
her arm contentedly through his arm and lead him forward; and she had
scarcely recovered from her confusion when Irene brought him up to her
saying, "This is my grandfather, Audrey."

"Grandfather, you have heard us talk of Audrey, the girl we travelled down
with the day we came to you. Mr. Carlyle and all the rest are looking for
the children's rabbit. The poor dears brought him out to share the picnic
and he has hopped off on his own account. Now you must stay here and talk
to Audrey while I go and look for him just over there. I think we haven't
looked in that clump of ferns yet."

Mr. Vivian slipped the rein from off his arm and left his horse free to
crop the grass. "He will be safe," he said reassuringly, "he will not go
far from me. Peter is more dependable than the rabbit Irene was speaking
of."

Peter moved away a few paces, and his master seated himself on the grass
near Audrey and the baskets and the kittens. "What sort of a rabbit is
it?" he asked, "and which way did he go?"

"I don't know which way he went," said Audrey, "he was gone when we
reached here. The children were very naughty, they started off by
themselves, unknown to anyone, with a basket of kittens and a rabbit.
There are the kittens. They have been making that dread