e stayed in its
neighbourhood as long as we could, learning from the obliging young man
many wrinkles for the education and upbringing of the kitten, which
would have to live in the play-room, its bread and milk obtained by
cunning and subterfuge from under nurse's nose.

Inexpressibly I longed to have the little thing in my possession; for
with its present owner, despite his love for it, it seemed less happy
than I could wish--stowed away, heedless of its feelings, in his
coat-pocket, or exposed on the narrow window-ledge, where it shivered,
and mewed, and squeezed up to shelter, in an agony of terror lest it
might fall.

We stayed with it until we were called to bed, but it was not of the
kitten alone we talked. It gave us much pleasure to find what interest
our new friend took in us. He even troubled to inquire where, exactly,
in our house, which was built like Miss Miller's, did we sleep--how
near to mother's room, how far from the servants? As you went up from
the back passage to the great square front landing, our mother's door
was the one that faced you--he knew that--

We laughed, and told him _no_, and cried out in our new delightful
friendliness how stupid he was! That was our nursery door, and then
came our night nursery, and then mother's, and--so on.

It was with much reluctance we tore ourselves away when nurse called;
the wind from the open window blew chill upon us as we nodded good-bye
to our friend. He waved the mewing kitten to us in farewell. It
protested loudly, its little fluffy hind legs clawing despairingly at
the empty air.

* * * * *

In the afternoon of the next day our parents were home again, brought
back by a telegram which told them that their house had been robbed,
the strong box in our mother's room broken open, and all the easily
portable articles of plate taken from the housemaid's pantry.

We had policemen in the house, all the morning, policemen were closeted
with our father when he came home. Willy, in a suddenly disorganised
household, free from nursery rule, trotted about, proud of his courage
in thus daring, at a policeman's heels. Now and again, I would hear him
coming at a rush upstairs to report progress to me, who would not leave
the play-room.

All the bars of the doors and shutters were untouched. The thief must
have been let into the house, the policeman said; and our father, who
trusted all his servants, was furious with