ickens, a cardboard
box of big red roses with long stalks, and a tall thin green bottle
of lavender water, and three smaller fatter bottles of eau-de-Cologne.
There was a letter, too.

"Dear Roberta and Phyllis and Peter," it said; "here are the things you
want. Your mother will want to know where they came from. Tell her they
were sent by a friend who heard she was ill. When she is well again you
must tell her all about it, of course. And if she says you ought not to
have asked for the things, tell her that I say you were quite right,
and that I hope she will forgive me for taking the liberty of allowing
myself a very great pleasure."

The letter was signed G. P. something that the children couldn't read.

"I think we WERE right," said Phyllis.

"Right? Of course we were right," said Bobbie.

"All the same," said Peter, with his hands in his pockets, "I don't
exactly look forward to telling Mother the whole truth about it."

"We're not to do it till she's well," said Bobbie, "and when she's well
we shall be so happy we shan't mind a little fuss like that. Oh, just
look at the roses! I must take them up to her."

"And the sweetbrier," said Phyllis, sniffing it loudly; "don't forget
the sweetbrier."

"As if I should!" said Roberta. "Mother told me the other day there was
a thick hedge of it at her mother's house when she was a little girl."

Chapter IV. The engine-burglar.

What was left of the second sheet and the Brunswick black came in very
nicely to make a banner bearing the legend

SHE IS NEARLY WELL THANK YOU

and this was displayed to the Green Dragon about a fortnight after the
arrival of the wonderful hamper. The old gentleman saw it, and waved
a cheerful response from the train. And when this had been done the
children saw that now was the time when they must tell Mother what they
had done when she was ill. And it did not seem nearly so easy as they
had thought it would be. But it had to be done. And it was done. Mother
was extremely angry. She was seldom angry, and now she was angrier than
they had ever known her. This was horrible. But it was much worse when
she suddenly began to cry. Crying is catching, I believe, like measles
and whooping-cough. At any rate, everyone at once found itself taking
part in a crying-party.

Mother stopped first. She dried her eyes and then she said:--

"I'm sorry I was so angry, darlings, because I know you didn't
understand."

"We didn't mean to be