o possessing, but would now have to do
without.

A thrill of dread passed through her at the thought of her aunt.
Would she be very angry, she wondered, if she found out what she had done?
Most probably she would, thought Bella, though there was no harm in it.
It never occurred to her that nothing could have been much more annoying
to Miss Hender than for a neighbour to be asked to feed the children
she was supposed to be there to look after. It was making public her
neglect and bad temper.

It would have been far better to have done the straightforward thing,
without any deception; to have gone to her bravely and asked to be allowed
to give the children some food, and have borne patiently her annoyance and
angry words. Now Bella's great anxieties were that her aunt should not
find out that the children had gone, and that they should be back before
she should miss them. The thought of this sent her quickly into the
house.

"Are there any more things for me to hang out, Aunt Emma?" she asked,
cheerfully. "There seems to be a little breeze springing up."

Miss Hender, without replying, handed her a dish piled high with wet
clothes. "Hang them so that they'll catch the wind, if there is any."
And Bella went out, anxiously wondering how one did that, but not daring
to ask her aunt.

In her perplexity she stood for a few moments looking at the garments
already on the lines, to see if some were blowing out more than others,
but, apparently, the little breeze had not power enough to stir them, and
Bella had to hang up her last load and trust to chance for its being
according to her aunt's pleasure. She had very little hope, though, of
such good fortune.

When she got back to the kitchen again Miss Hender had emptied the tub she
had been washing at, and was preparing to dry her wrinkled, water-soaked
fingers.

"I've finished the white clothes, so now I'll see about giving you
children something to eat, before I take the coloured things out of the
copper," she said, speaking less snappishly than before. She was, in
fact, somewhat ashamed of her recent display of temper over the missing
poker, and was anxious to make a better and more dignified impression on
Bella's mind.

All Bella felt was a great sinking of her heart. What could she do?
What would be best? Would it be better to confess at once and tell
exactly what had happened, or should she let her aunt go on and get the
meal, and trust to the children's