cross.

'I must brush my hair and wash my hands first,' I said, 'and I daresay
mamma won't want me without Clement. She didn't say me alone, did she?'

'She said "your brothers,"' replied Peterkin, 'but of course you must
come. And she said she hoped "they" wouldn't be long. So you must come
as you are. I don't think your hands are very dirty.'

It is one of the queer things about Peterkin that he can nearly always
make you do what he wants if he's really in earnest. So I had to give
in, and he went puffing upstairs, with me after him, to the
drawing-room, when, sure enough, the old lady was sitting talking to
mamma.

Mamma looked up as we came in, and I saw that her eyes went past me.

'Hasn't Clement come in?' she asked, and it made me wish I hadn't given
in about it to Pete.

'No, mamma,' I said. 'It's one of his late days, you know. And Peterkin
made me come up just as I was.'

I felt very ashamed of my hair and crushed collar and altogether. I
didn't mind so much about my hands; boys' hands _can't_ be like ladies'.
But Mrs. Wylie was so awfully neat--she might have been a fairy herself,
or a doll dressed to look like an old lady. I felt as clumsy and messy
as could be. But she was awfully jolly; she seemed to know exactly how
uncomfortable it was for me.

'Quite right, quite right,' she said. 'For I must be getting back. It
looks rather stormy, I'm afraid. It was very thoughtful of you both, my
dear boys, to hurry. I should have liked to see Mr. Clement again, but
that must be another time. And may we fix the day now, dear Mrs. Lesley?
Saturday next we were talking of. Will you come about four o'clock, or
even earlier, my dears? The parrot stays out till five, generally, and
indeed his mistress is very good-natured, and so is her maid. They were
quite pleased when I told them I had some young friends who were very
interested in the bird and wanted to see him again. So you shall make
better acquaintance with him on Saturday, and perhaps--' but here the
old lady stopped at last, without finishing her sentence.

Nevertheless, as each of us told the other afterwards, both Peterkin and
I finished it for her in our own minds. We glanced at each other, and
the same thought ran through us--had Mrs. Wylie got some plan in her
head about the little girl?

'It is very kind indeed of you, Mrs. Wylie,' said mamma. 'Giles and
Peterkin will be delighted to go to you on Saturday, won't you, boys?'

And we both said,