I
should--that it had been all my fault. I was half thinking of asking the
grave young man if the boys might stay in the shop while I ran on to the
post-office alone (only I felt sure Tom would greatly object to such an
arrangement), when another person--a grave-looking gentleman too, but a
good deal older and less hurried, it seemed to me, than the
other--stopped, as he was crossing from one counter to another, and
spoke to us. His voice was very kind, and somehow I felt sure he had
little boys and girls of his own at home.

[Illustration: "Has any one attended to you, my dear?"]

"Has any one attended to you, my dear?" he said.

"Yes, no, at least, I don't want to buy anything," I said. "It's only
for a stamp, and I don't like taking the boys any farther along the
street for fear they should get lost. It's so dreadfully crowded
to-night."

The gentleman smiled at this, but his smile was nicer than the other
one's smile, for it didn't seem as if he was laughing at me.

"And are you not afraid of getting lost yourself?" he said. "You are a
very little girl to be out without a nurse."

I got really alarmed at that. Supposing he were to call a policeman and
send us home with him, as I had heard was sometimes done in London with
lost or strayed children! What a terrible fuss it would make.

"Oh, no," I said eagerly. "We've come such a little way. It was only to
post a letter, but I have no stamp. Please I think we'd better go and
try to find the post-office."

I took tight hold of the boys' hand again, and we were turning to go,
when our new friend stopped us.

"Stay," he said, "if it is only a stamp for a letter that you want, I
can easily give you one."

He turned towards the man who was writing at the desk place and said
something quickly, and the man held out a stamp which the gentleman
handed to me.

"Shall I put it on the letter for you?" he asked.

"Oh no, thank you," I said, in a great hurry to get away now that I had
actually the precious stamp in my possession. "I can put it on quite
well. Here is the penny, and thank you very much for the stamp."

He took the penny quite seriously. I was glad of that, and liked him the
better for it. Had he refused it I should have been really offended.

"And what will you do with the letter now?" he said. "Shall you not have
still to go to the post-office to put it in?"

"Oh no," I said, "there is a pillar-post quite near our house."

"And you are sure you k