said breathlessly, putting his head round the
door at the answer to his knock, "are you nearly dressed?"

"All but my coat," said Mr. Orban, without turning from the glass
where he was carefully arranging his evening tie. "Come in if you
want to."

There was an open door into the bedroom, where Eustace knew his
mother was certain still to be.

"I--I would rather speak to you out here," said the boy, "if you
could be quick."

Mr. Orban turned a surprised face.

"Oh, if it is a secret I am sure mother will excuse our shutting
the door," he said, and suited the action to the word. "Now come,
out with it. Have you been getting into some scrape, old man?"

The boy looked so extraordinarily white that Mr. Orban began to be
afraid something serious had happened.

"You are quite certain mother can't hear?" Eustace said in a low
tone.

"Perfectly," said Mr. Orban, looking more deeply perplexed, for
hitherto Mrs. Orban had shared all secrets; in fact, the children
had gone more readily to her with their troubles than to him,
because he had so little time for such things. "There hasn't been
any accident to one of the others?" he added sharply, struck by a
new idea.

"Oh no, no," Eustace said; "nothing like that. But, father," he
went on, drawing very close, "I'm not to tell another soul--only
you. Bob Cochrane is here. He is waiting for you down by the first
drive gate, and wants to speak to you at once."

"Bob Cochrane!" repeated Mr. Orban, blankly staring at the boy.
"What are you talking about, child? You've been dreaming, or you've
got a touch of fever."

He passed his hand over Eustace's brow, and found it cool enough.

"But it's the truth, father," Eustace said. "I thought I was
dreaming myself, and it feels awfully strange still. I was kneeling
at the window with my head in my hands, thinking--thinking about
home"--his voice faltered a good deal over the words--"when some
one hit me on the shoulder with a stone, and I looked down and saw
Bob."

"Impossible!" said Mr. Orban. "You've had a delusion because you
were thinking about home. You were thinking so hard about Bob you
fancied you saw him. Things like that do happen sometimes, you
know. Bob is thousands of miles away, looking after the plantation;
he couldn't by any earthly possibility be here."

Mr. Orban spoke so certainly that Eustace's faith in his own reason
almost wavered; but if vision it were, it had impressed him
strongly.

"I don't thin