'Yes, thank you. It will be very jolly,' so heartily,
that the old lady trotted off, as pleased as pleased.

Of course, I ran downstairs to see her out, and Pete followed more
slowly, just behind her. She had a very nice, rather stately way about
her, though she was so small and thin, and it never suited Pete to hurry
in those days, either up or down stairs; his legs were so short.

We were very eager for Saturday to come, and we talked a lot about it. I
had a kind of idea that Mrs. Wylie had said something about the little
girl to mamma, though mamma said nothing at all to us, except that we
must behave very nicely and carefully at Rock Terrace, and not forget
that, though she was so kind, Mrs. Wylie was an old lady, and old ladies
were sometimes fussy.

We promised we would be all right, and Peterkin said to me that he
didn't believe Mrs. Wylie was at all 'fussy.'

'She is too fairyish,' he said, 'to be like that.'

That was a very 'Peterkin' speech, but I did not snub him for it, as I
sometimes did. I was really so interested in all about the parrot and
the invisible little girl that I was almost ready to join him in making
up fanciful stories--that there was an ogre who wouldn't let her out, or
that any one who tried to see her would be turned into a frog, or things
like that out of the old fairy-tales.

'But Mrs. Wylie _has_ seen her,' said Peterkin, 'and _she_ hasn't turned
into a frog!'

That was a rather tiresome 'way' of his--if I agreed about fairies and
began making up, myself, he would get quite common-sensical, and almost
make fun of my ones.

'How do you know that she doesn't turn into a frog half the day?' I
said. 'That's often the way in enchantments.'

And then we both went off laughing at the idea of a frog jumping down
from Mrs. Wylie's drawing-room sofa, and saying, 'How do you do, my
dears?' instead of the neat little old lady.

So our squabble didn't come to anything that time.

Blanchie and Elf were rather jealous of our invitation, I think, though
Blanche always said she didn't care to go anywhere without Clement. But
Elf made us promise that some day we would get leave to take her round
by the parrot's house for her to see him.

Of course we never said anything to any one but ourselves about the
shut-up little girl, and Clement had forgotten what he had heard that
evening. He was very busy just then working extra for some prize he
hoped to get at school--I forget what it was, but h