ill the dear child give me a sweet kiss before ri go?"

The consternation of the "dear child" and her mother can be imagined;
but discovery came with the next moment, together with such shriekings
of delight, such shakings and scoldings, such questionings and
exclaimings, as were proper to the occasion. Nan returned home in high
glee, chuckling over the success of the afternoon's escapade, and far
from suspecting that the chief adventure still was to come. Such was
the fact, however, and this is the way in which it happened.

She had passed along the high road in safety, meeting few inhabitants,
owing to the inclemency of the weather, and looking forward with delight
to the welcome which she would receive from her sisters. Presently
Thurston House came in view, and, sure enough, there were four excited
heads bobbing to and fro at the window, four broad beams of amusement to
testify to the grotesqueness of her appearance. Nan lifted a solemn
glance in return, and Chrissie, seized with a sudden demon of mischief,
pointed a forefinger at the door opposite, and gesticulated violently in
its direction. As plainly as words could speak, that forefinger said,
"Call at the Grange! There's an adventure for you, if you like! Beard
the lion in his den. I dare you to do it! You dare not go!"

It was done on the impulse of the moment, and on the impulse of the
moment Nan turned and skipped obediently across the street. She never
thought of possible consequences; her one idea was to horrify her
sisters by pretending to carry out the suggestion, and the sight of
their agitated faces pressed against the pane was sufficient
encouragement to sustain her courage, as a pull at the bell sent a
pealing chime through the house. The appearance of the old butler in
the doorway did indeed evoke a thrill of nervousness, but then, what
mattered? Visitors were never admitted, and she would certainly be
dismissed, even as the others had been before her!

She quite prided herself upon the _sang-froid_ with which she made the
usual inquiry--

"Mr Vanburgh is at home, I presume? Will he be able to see me this
afternoon?"

"Certainly, madam. Will you walk in? Mr Vanburgh is quite at
liberty."

The horror of it seemed to take away all power of resistance. Did the
man drag her in by force, or did she obey him of her own accord? Nan
could not tell. The awful truth remained that the next moment she stood
within the hall, and the doo