hand.

"How do you do, Sukey?" she said. "I am very glad to come home, and this
is my great friend Miss Sharston."

Sukey stared up at Kitty; then she glanced at Mrs. Aylmer and slowly
shook her head.

"It's a very, _very_ small house," she said, "and how we are to fit you
two young ladies in is more than I can tell."

"Never mind, Sukey," said Mrs. Aylmer; "I have it all arranged; don't
you go and put your finger into the pie and spoil things, you silly,
stupid old thing."

Here Mrs. Aylmer shook her hand with a playful gesture at Sukey, and
then the entire party found themselves in the house. Florence had not
been home for two or three years. Kitty had never seen the cottage at
Dawlish before. Certainly the one sitting-room was very tiny.

"How it has dwindled!" said Florence, looking round her. "Good gracious!
Why, the ceiling nearly reaches my head, and as for the walls"--she
stretched out her long arms playfully--"I can almost touch from wall to
wall; but never mind, it's home; it's your house, Mummy, and you are
good to take us girls in and look after us for a whole delightful
fortnight."

"There is a very nice supper waiting for you," said Mrs. Aylmer, "and
quite in the old style--crabs and a water-cress salad. I thought you
would appreciate that; we so often had crabs for supper when--when you
were here last, Flo. You remember them, don't you?"

"Nothing could be more appetising," replied Florence. "Would you like to
come upstairs now, Kitty?"

Mrs. Aylmer had given up her wee bed-room to the two girls. Where she
was to sleep was a mystery known only to herself; but, as she seemed
quite cheerful and happy over it, Florence advised Kitty not to
investigate matters too closely.

"It's the Mummy's way," she said; "she likes managing; she quite adores
the thought of having us both with her in this little dull house. Can
you put up with it, Kitty?"

"The place is quite lovely," replied Kitty, "and I would put up with
anything after the news I told you this morning."

"Oh, that your father is really coming back: that you have not to go to
India after all: that you are going to live here and take a beautiful
house and be real mistress of a home," said Florence.

"I don't know anything about the beautiful house, nor being mistress of
a home," replied Kitty; "but I am going to be with father wherever he
is, and that," she added, "will be home to me."

"Of course," answered Florence, in a somewhat wistf