ured Meg, turning a leaf. Judy unclasped her
hands, and then clasped them again more tightly than before.
"Six whole tickets wasted--thirty beautiful shillings--just
because we have a father!"

"He sent them to the Digby-Smiths," Bunty volunteered, "and wrote
on the envelope, 'With compts. J. C. Woolcot.'"

Judy moaned. "Six horrid little Digby-Smiths sitting in the
theatre watching our fun with their six horrid little eyes," she
said bitterly.

Bunty, who was mathematically inclined, wanted to know why they
wouldn't look at it through their twelve horrid little eyes, and
Judy laughed and came down from the table, after expressing a
wicked wish that the little Digby-Smiths might all tumble over the
dress-circle rail before the curtain rose. Meg shut her book with
a hurried bang.

"Has Pip gone yet? Father'll be awfully cross. Oh dear, what a
head I've got!" she said. "Where's Esther? Has anyone seen Esther?"

"My DEAR Meg!" Judy said; "why, it's at least two hours since
Esther went up the drive before your very nose. She's gone to
Waverly--why, she came in and told you, and said she trusted you
to see about the coat, and you said, 'M--'m! all right.'"

Meg gave a startled look of recollection. "Did I have to clean
it?" she asked in a frightened tone, and pushing her fair hair
back from her forehead. "Oh, girls! what WAS it I had to do?"

"Clean with benzine, iron while wet, put in a cool place to keep
warm, and bake till brown," said Judy promptly. "SURELY you
heard, Margaret? Esther was at such pains to explain."

Meg ruffled her hair again despairingly. "What shall I do?" she
said, actual tears springing to her eyes. "What will Father
say? Oh, Judy, you might have reminded me."

Nell slipped an arm round her neck. "She's only teasing,
Megsie; Esther did it and left it ready in the hall--you've only
to give it to Pip. Pat has to take the dogcart into town this
afternoon to have the back seat mended, and Pip's going in it,
too, that's all, and they're putting the horse in now; you're
not late."

It was the coat Bunty had done his best to spoil that all
the trouble was about. It belonged, as I said, to the Captain's
full-dress uniform, and was wanted for a dinner at the Barracks
this same evening. And Esther had been sponging and cleaning
at it all the morning, and had left directions that it was to be
taken to the Barracks in the afternoon.

Presently the dogcart came spinning round to