dressed in his very best clothes. The baby's best frock was made of
Turkey-red cotton, very faded, and he had a small worn-out fifth-hand
sun-bonnet tied under his chin, and his little legs were bare, but that
did not matter--it was, indeed, rather an advantage this hot weather.

Ben frowned very much when he saw the baby.

"Now, what do you mean by this?" he cried; "how can you be Susy Minchin
dragging that big baby about with you? You give it to Mrs. Court."

"No, no," pleaded poor Netty; "Mother said I wasn't to leave baby with
Mrs. Court; we must bring Dan with us. There, Ben, you won't say no."

Ben looked decidedly cross, but Netty had a very coaxing way with her.

"Come along then," he said roughly; but there was a tenderness in that
rough tone, and Netty knew that her cause was won. It never occurred to
Ben to offer to carry the baby for Netty, but he made up his mind that
he must smuggle it through somehow.

The pair reached the great station in good time, and were joined by a
lot of other children, and several teachers and Sunday-school
superintendents of all sorts, and also several clergymen.

Ben and Netty soon mingled with the crowd and were marched in orderly
array past a gentleman who looked at each ticket and took down each name
as they went by. When it came to Ben's turn he called out manfully: "Tom
Minchin," nudging Netty at the same time.

"Susy Minchin," she said. But here the little party were called to halt.

"Susy Minchin, what are you doing with that baby?" said Mr. Stokes, the
curate.

Poor little Netty, _alias_ Susy, found herself turning red and then
pale.

"Please, sir," she said, dropping a curtsey that she was accustomed to
make to her Board-school teacher, "please, I couldn't come without Dan."

"But I didn't know that Mrs. Minchin had a young baby," said the curate,
who was very young and fair-haired himself, and looked much puzzled what
to do.

"It would kill me to go back now, sir," said Netty, and there was such a
passion of entreaty in her soft eyes and such a tremble round her pale
lips that the young curate looked at a pretty girl who was standing
near, and the pretty girl said:

"Oh! poor little dear, she shan't be disappointed. I would rather take
the baby myself."

"But it's against the rules," said the curate, "and others may take
advantage of it."

"You shan't be prevented from going, little Susy Minchin," said the
girl, now coming forward. "Give me the bab