gone long, and I'll come back and
stay with you till your mother comes. Then I can walk home with my
mother, for she'll stop here first."

"That will be very nice, but I don't believe we dare lock it up."

"Let Bubbles stay."

But Bubbles' eyes nearly popped out of her head at this suggestion; and,
finally, after many plans Rock went over to the house of the man whom
Mr. Dallas employed to take care of the garden and stable, and he
promised to stay on the place to give Bubbles countenance, till the
others should return.

"I've got a job over there, anyhow," he said, "though I mostly leaves
about this time, but I can do what I have to do as well now as in the
morning." Therefore the children felt perfectly safe in leaving Bubbles.

Rock led the way to Mr. Brisk's workhouse. "What I've to show you is in
here," he said. The girls followed him somewhat timidly, but were
reassured when Rock drew out a box of shavings where, cuddled up, they
saw a cat and three little bits of kittens.

"Oh! how cunning," cried Dimple, getting down on her knees. "You little
tootsy-wootsy, deary things. Aren't they soft? Oh! if we might have
them. There are three, just one a piece. Rock, don't you believe we
might have them?"

"We'll go and ask," said Rock, and they ran pell-mell into the house.

"What is the matter?" said Mr. Brisk, starting up lest something were
wrong.

"We are only going to ask Mrs. Brisk if we may have the kittens," they
cried, breathlessly.

Mrs. Brisk was standing in the hall, and heard their story.

"Well! Well! Well!" she said. "If old Topple hasn't another lot of
kittens. Have them? To be sure you may, and welcome, when they are big
enough to take from their mother."

The girls clapped their hands delightedly and went back to the little
blind things, who, with their tight shut eyes, were mewing and nosing
against each other.

"Now let's choose," said Rock, after they had taken them out on the
grass where it was lighter. "Two black, and one black and white. If you
girls like the black ones best I'll take the other, or if either of you
like that best, I'll take one of the black ones."

So, after much talking, Dimple chose a black one, and Florence the black
and white, while Rock expressed himself delighted with the other black
one as really what he liked the best.

"I shall name mine Jet," said he.

"And mine I'll name Onyx, and call it Nyxy for short," said Dimple.

"And mine shall be Marble," sai