hem now when they
are asleep? That young 'un with the black eyes is such a fury; seemed
to me as if she was never goin' off."

"She's all right now," said Mother Rodesia. "She's just dead tired. Of
course, if I had had my way, I'd have put a little of that syrup into
their soup--Mother Winslow's Syrup--but Mother Bridget wouldn't have
it. She took quite a fancy to the little gal, and all on account of
her firing up and calling her names."

Jack laughed.

"I never seed sech a little 'un," he said, "sech a sparky little
piece. Ben's in rare luck. I'd like to keep her for a sort of little
sister of my own--she'd amuse me fine."

"Well, well, you aint a-goin' to have her," said Mother Rodesia. "I'm
goin' to ask thirty shillin's for her and thirty shillin's for the
boy. That'll be three pund--not a bad night's work; eh, Jack?"

"No," replied Jack; but then he continued after a pause, "You'll tell
him, won't you, mother, to be good to the children. I wouldn't like to
think that little 'un was treated cruel, and her sperit broke--she has
got a fine sperit, bless her; I wouldn't like it to be broke. I don't
care for the little boy. There's nothing in 'im."

"Well, stop talking now," said Mother Rodesia. "They must be missed at
the Rectory by this time, and they'll be sendin' people out to look
for 'em. It's a rare stroke of luck that nobody knows that we are
camping in the Fairy Dell, for if they did they would be sure to come
straight to us, knowin' that poor gypsies is always _supposed_ to
kidnap children. Now, Jack, you just hold the pony as still as you
can, and I'll slip the clothes off the pair of 'em."

Little Diana, in her deep sleep, was not at all disturbed when stout
hands lifted her away from Orion, and when she lay stretched out flat
on a large lap. One by one her clothes were untied and slipped off her
pretty little body, and some very ugly, sack-like garments substituted
in their place. Diana had only a dim feeling in her dreams that mother
was back again, and was undressing her, and that she was very glad to
get into bed. And when the same process of undressing took place on
little Orion, he was still sounder asleep and still more indifferent
to the fact that he was turned sometimes over on his face, and
sometimes on his back, and that his pretty, dainty clothes, which his
own mother had bought for him, were removed, never to be worn by him
again.

"Now, then," said Mother Rodesia, when she had laid th