he
hall; she had taken the key of the verandah doorway. But as her eyes
went wildly searching among the furniture they fell upon a dusty little
sandal with a brown little foot attached. The boy had crawled so
completely underneath the low sofa that nothing more of him was visible.

"Max," said Miss Bibby.

Not a toe quivered.

Miss Bibby stooped down and laid a hand on the foot; the muscles of it
lay soft and resistless beneath her fingers.

"Max," she said again.

"Oh, oh," said Lynn, whose nature was easily strung high, "is he dead!
Oh, is he dead!" She leapt across the room.

But Miss Bibby was gently drawing more of the unresisting body into
view--the scratched and chubby knees that succeeded the brown feet, and
that were perfect little "calendars of distress," the three-inch
"trousers," the crumpled tunic, the little smudgy face.

"Fast asleep!" she said tenderly, and gathered him very softly up into
her arms.

"Fast asleep!" said Kate, and something stirred at her heart and made
her long to gather up the chubby rogue herself.

"I will lay him down on the sofa," whispered Miss Bibby, but made no
haste to do so, so sweet was the sense of the warm, helpless child body
in her arms.

But when the little girls had flown to make a nest with cushions and
proclaimed it ready, what further excuse had she? She moved gently
across the floor with her burden. But the motion broke the boy's light
sleep and he stirred in her arms and opened half an eye. It fell on
Kate.

"I'm coming," he said sleepily, "wait for me," and sank away
again--"wait for me," and struggled back almost to wakefulness.

Miss Bibby sat down on the sofa with him.

"There," she said soothingly; "hush, go to sleep, love."

Love of course instantly opened his eyes wide.

"I'm going wiv her," he said, looking at Kate. "I always go wiv her to
the corner."

"But my little boy was naughty," murmured Miss Bibby in his ear. "Is he
my own little good boy again?"

Max nodded.

"Get the licycle," he commanded the three little sisters who were
looking at him yearningly.

They flew to obey.

"I'm hungly," he announced.

"Yes, yes--you had no breakfast, darling--Pauline, quickly, some
arrowroot biscuits and a glass of milk."

Anna herself brought in the little tray; she had a soft spot in her
heart for this member of the black-hearted sex after all.

"I put cream on them for you, darling," she said, and proffered the
biscuits.

Max munch