ther way to get you safe home. But now we mustn't talk any more, only
remember all I've said if that man comes. And to-morrow, when I give you
the word, you must be ready," she went on impressively; "you won't be
afraid with Tim. I'll do the best I can, but we'll have to trust a deal
to Tim; and you must do just what he tells you, and never mind if it
seems strange and hard. It's the only chance for them," she added to
herself, with a strange longing in her beautiful dark eyes, as she again
left them, "but if I could but have taken them safe back myself I'd have
felt easier in my mind."

She put in her head again to warn the children not to try to speak to
Tim, and if they must speak to each other to do so in a whisper.

But at first their hearts seemed too full to speak. They just sat with
their arms round each other, too bewildered and almost stunned with the
good news to take it in.

"Bruvver," said Pamela at last, "don't you fink it's because us has said
our prayers such many many times?"

"P'raps," replied Duke.

"And you _don't_ fink now what--you know what you said about Grandpapa
and Grandmamma," said Pamela, her voice faltering.

Duke hesitated. He was not quite generous enough to own that his gloomy
prophecies had been a good deal the result of his being tired and cross
and contradictory. In his heart he had no misgiving such as he had
expressed to Pamela--he had no idea that what he had said might really
have been true.

"You _don't_ fink so, bruvver?" persisted Pam.

"I daresay if us goes back very soon it'll make them better even if they
are very ill. I think us had better put that in our prayers too--for us
to get back to them so quick that there won't be time for them to get
very ill. I wouldn't mind them being just a _little_ ill, would you,
sister? It'd be so nice to see them getting better."

"I'd _rather_ they wasn't ill at all," said Pamela, "but I daresay
God'll understand. Oh I _wish_ it was to-morrow! don't you, bruvver?"

"Hush," said Duke. "Diana said us mustn't talk loud--and see, sister,
they're going to put the horse in and go on again. Oh how tired I am of
going along shaking like this all day! And don't you remember, sister,
when us was little us used to think it would be _so_ nice to live in a
cart like a house, like this?"

"Us never thought how _nugly_ it would be inside," said Pamela, glancing
round the little square space in which they were with great
dissatisfaction. And