this luxury, procured rooms among friends. Others camped out all
night with their husbands and sons, returning to their homes only when
the very last van and show had disappeared.

All Tout-Petit collected to watch the putting up of the booths, the
erection of the tents and marquees, and the getting into line of the
menagerie. This part of the _fete_ Mrs. Wright and Jack had wished to
avoid. Jack would not have allowed Estelle to be exposed to the rough
sights which were to be seen on such occasions. He was annoyed that the
subject had been mentioned before her. He considered it wiser, however,
to make no objection, as the idea had caught her fancy, and he and his
mother would be there to protect her. Nevertheless, as the day drew
near, he disliked the thought of the crowd more and more. The child
might catch any sort of complaint, or meet with unhealthy adventures, or
see cruel sights. But even these did not altogether account for the
dislike he felt to taking her to the _fete_. After doing his best to get
rid of his own fears, he resolved to consult his mother. She, after all,
was a better judge than he. Since his great trouble he had shunned any
large concourse of people. Rarely had he gone to any village festivity,
though he had lived at Tout-Petit for many years. Mrs. Wright never
cared for them either. Estelle's presence had brightened her up,
however, and her opinion now appeared to have altered. She spoke of all
there would be to see as if she quite looked forward to a bit of
pleasure. The desire to please Estelle was of course the reason for this
sudden change of mind. It was with some hesitation, therefore, that,
Estelle having gone to bed, Jack broached the subject a few evenings
before the _fete_.

'What can happen to the child?' asked Mrs. Wright, surprised. 'We will
take care not to lose sight of her. There's plenty of room for stirring,
and it won't be difficult to steer clear of the crowd. You are a tower
of strength, Jack,' she added, with a proud look at him. 'With you as
our guardian, we have no one to fear.'

Jack gave an uneasy laugh. 'I can't account for the misgiving I have,'
he said, sighing.

'The child would be bitterly disappointed if we made difficulties now,'
continued his mother, wondering what had suddenly made her son fanciful.
He could not be afraid of meeting any of his own countrymen, could he?
That was not likely. What did he fear then? Concluding that he was out
of sorts, she di