uth
at the quiet figure huddled in a little heap at Miss Turner's feet. Yet
when Perry had been made to understand that it was even to this small
creature they owed the safety and return of their darlings, she was as
warm in her expressions of gratitude and as eager to be kind to him as
her mistresses themselves.

Bambo was carried to a pleasant top room overlooking the lawn and the
cedar tree, and laid in a comfortable bed--the most comfortable in which
his poor body had ever lain in all his weary life. But its softness did
not soothe him; the down pillows were not restful; he paid no heed to
the cool freshness of the linen: for when he recovered from the stupor
into which he had sunk beside the gate, he was in the grip of an enemy
which he would have a hard fight to shake off. The wet and cold to which
he had been exposed without sufficient clothing, together with the
fatigue he had undergone, working on a constitution already in a
critical condition, had brought on pneumonia; and when Dr. King saw him,
late that night, he had little hope of being able to save his life.

The next morning, after a long, sound sleep and a good breakfast of
porridge and milk, Joan was as bright as a button, petted by Perry,
playing with baby, and teasing the pussies. Her troubles were behind,
and she did not talk much about her adventures.

But Darby was weak, wandering, and feverish. Dr. King said, however,
that his illness was merely the effect of excitement and the strain upon
a not over strong system. He would be all right in a few days. He
chattered incessantly of the Happy Land, Bruno, Joe, Moll, and the
monkey, but in broken snatches from which no reliable information could
be gleaned.

Miss Turner would have liked to send the police after the Harrises
without a single hour's delay. It was dreadful, she declared, to think
of such a wicked pair being permitted to wander at large, working
mischief without let or hindrance. But her friends advised her to wait
until Darby was well enough to be questioned; or possibly the dwarf
might yet be able to furnish such a clue to their haunts and habits as
should enable the police to pounce upon them unawares.

For a few days Darby continued in a low and feeble condition; then he
took a turn for the better, and soon he was strong enough to listen to
Joan's merry prattle, and to be amused by baby's funny attempts at
speaking. The weather was still mild and bright; so as soon as he was
able