leeve; and she promised that she would be a good girl and not give any
more trouble, with mental reservations mercifully hidden from him.

"There, don't cry," said the Squire. "We won't say any more about it;
and if you want a horse to ride, we'll see if we can't find you a horse
to ride. I dare say you think your old father a terrible martinet, but
it's all for your good, you know. You must say to yourself when you feel
dissatisfied about some little twopenny-halfpenny disappointment that he
knows best."

Cicely gave him a hug. He was a dear old thing really, and if one could
only always bear in mind the relative qualities of his bark and his bite
there would be no need at all to go in awe of him. "Dear old daddy," she
said. "I am sorry I ran away, and I'm very glad to get home again."

Then she went upstairs quite lightheartedly, and along the corridor to
the schoolroom. The twins, arrayed in long blue overalls, were tidying
up, after lessons, and Miss Bird was urging them to more conscientious
endeavour, avowing that it was no more trouble to put a book on a shelf
the right way than the wrong way, and that if there were fifty servants
in the house it would be wrong to throw waste paper in the fireplace,
since waste paper baskets existed to have waste paper thrown into them
and fireplaces did not.

After a minute pause of observation, the twins threw themselves upon
Cicely with one accord and welcomed her vociferously, and Miss Bird
followed suit.

"My own darling," she said warmly, "we have missed you dreadfully and
how are Muriel and Walter I suppose as happy as anything now Joan 'n
Nancy there is no occasion to pull Cicely to pieces you can be glad to
see her without roughness and go _at once_ and take off your overalls
and wash your hands for tea I dare say Cicely will go with you."

"Have you been to your room yet, darling?" asked Joan.

"Not yet," said Cicely.

"Now _straight_ to your own room first," said Miss Bird, clapping her
hands together to add weight to her command. "You can go with Cicely
afterwards."

"All right, starling darling, we'll be ready in time for tea," said
Nancy. "You finish clearing up" and one on each side of Cicely, they led
her to her own bedroom, and threw open the door. The room was garlanded
with pink and white paper roses. They formed festoons above the bed and
were carried in loops round the walls, upon which had also been hung
placards printed in large letters and colour