e was, she
put George in a corner, with some playthings, to keep him from the fire
till she came to him again, and then mounted the stairs, as quickly as
her trembling limbs would let her,--first to her mother's room, and then
out upon the roof. She tied a large red handkerchief of her mother's
upon her father's Sunday walking-stick, and then waved it, as high as
she could hold it, above her head, while she considered how she could
fasten it; for it would never do to leave George alone below for many
minutes. Perhaps neighbour Gool had seen it already, and would soon be
here with his men. But, lest he should not, she must fix her flag, and
trust to Stephen and Roger not thinking of looking up to the roof from
the yard below. At last, after many attempts, she thrust the stick into
a crevice of the roof, and fixed it with heavy things round it,--having
run down three or four times, to see that George was safe.

There was, indeed, no time to be lost, for the intruders below were
doing all the mischief they could think of, short of robbing and burning
the premises. The great tall man, Stephen, strolling about the lower
rooms, found Mrs Linacre's knitting, and pulled out the needles, and
unravelled the work. Roger spied a heap of bulbs on the corner of a
high shelf. They were Mr Linacre's rare and valuable tulip-roots,
brought from Holland. Roger cut one of them open, to see what it looked
like, and then threw the whole lot into the boiler, now steaming over
the fire, saying the family should have a dish the more at dinner
to-day. They got hold of Oliver's tools, and the cup he was at work
upon. Stephen raised his arm, about to dash the cup to the ground, when
Oliver sprang forward, and said--

"You shall have it,--you shall have my cup;--you don't know what a
beauty it will be, when it is done. Only let me finish it, and you
shall have it in exchange for the stickleback you caught this morning.
The stickleback will do to manure our garden; and I am sure you will
like the cup, if you will only let me finish it."

"Manure your garden, indeed!" cried Stephen, gruffly. "I'll cut up your
garden to shreds first. What business has your garden in our carr? You
and your great landlord will find what it is to set your outlandish
plants growing where our geese ought to be grazing. We'll show you that
we don't want any foreigners here; and if you don't like our usage, you
may go home again; and nobody will cry for you