vague kind in this thought.
Hoodie sat swinging her legs backwards and forwards, while queer fancies
of where she would go--what she would do, once she was "big enough,"
chased each other round her busy little brain.

Suddenly a sound in the passage outside the nursery door made her look
up just in time to see the door open and Magdalen, leading tearful Hec
by the hand, followed by Maudie, Duke, and Martin, come in.

Hoodie looked up with some curiosity.

"Hoodie," said Magdalen, "Hec wants to tell you how sorry he is that you
have got blamed on his account. It was he that touched the basket and
knocked it over. He ran into my room to look at the bird without
Martin's knowing he had left the nursery, and he was so afraid that he
had hurt the little bird, by knocking it over, that he didn't like to
tell. Kiss him and speak kindly to him, poor little boy, Hoodie dear. He
has been so unhappy."

Hoodie gravely contemplated her little brother, but without giving any
signs of obeying her cousin's request.

"_I_ have been unhappy too," she said, "and it wasn't my fault. It _was_
Hec's."

"Well, then," said Magdalen, "it should make you the more sorry for Hec.
He has had the unhappiness of knowing it _was_ his fault, which is the
worst unhappiness of all."

Hoodie threw back her head.

"_I_ don't think so," she said. "I think the worst is when people alvays
says you're naughty when you're not."

"I am sorry you thought I said you were naughty when you weren't,
Hoodie," said Magdalen, "but you thought I meant more than I did. As
soon as I thought about it quietly I felt sure you hadn't touched the
basket--and even _more_ sure, that if you had been tempted to touch it,
you would have said so."

"'Cos Hec toldened you it was him," said Hoodie.

"No, before Hec said a word, I said to Martin I was sure it wasn't you."

Hoodie looked up with a new light in her eyes.

"_Did_ you?" she said, as if hardly able to believe it.

"Yes, indeed, Miss Hoodie," said Martin, "Miss King did say so. And very
kind of her it was, to trust you so, for you did look very funny when I
said you had been a few minutes alone in the room."

Hoodie flamed round upon her.

"It's vezzy nasty of you to say that, Martin," she exclaimed violently.
"_Vezzy_ nasty. You alvays think I'm naughty. I daresay I did look
funny, 'cos I was temptationed, awful temptationed to touch the bird,
but I wouldn't, no I _wouldn't_, 'cos I'd p'omised."

And a