thing, I s'pose, she'll clear
that Castle young 'un out of the house and then your Miss Beryl. And
mebbe send Miss Robin off to school somewheres to get these common
notions out o' her little head. You say they're all talking upstairs
now?"

"Only Madame and the lawyer man. Mr. Granger's gone down to the Mills to
send word to his home that Miss Robin's found."

"Saints be praised!" murmured Mrs. Budge, devoutly.

Up in her little sitting-room Robin and Beryl sat arm in arm, and Robin
told Beryl the whole story of her adventure. On the window seat beside
them lay the square box containing Dale's model.

"I just ran, Beryl, as fast as I could and _anywhere_. I was so
frightened I didn't stop to look. I fell down twice and the second time
I was so tired I could scarcely get up. But I had to. And then I thought
I'd found a path, and I followed it, but it stopped at a ravine that
was, _oh_, so deep. Well, I knew I was lost. I called and called and no
one answered. And I heard all sorts of queer noises as though there
might be wild beasts. One came very close, I'm sure, though I couldn't
see it. And I was dreadfully hungry. I sat down on a log and cried,
too--my feet ached so and my arms ached so from carrying this box. I
decided to bury it and leave a note telling about it, for, honestly,
Beryl, I didn't think then I'd live an hour longer, but I didn't have a
pencil and when I started to dig with my hands the ground was so gooy
that I couldn't bear to. Oh, I'll never forget it." She shuddered and
Beryl held her hands tighter. "And it began to get dark. I tried to be
brave and say nothing could hurt me, but I couldn't help but hear the
funny noises and I was so _awfully_ alone. I started to walk again, just
somewhere, because when I walked I couldn't hear all the sounds and
every now and then I'd call out. And just as it was almost pitch dark in
the wood something big came rushing toward me and sprang at me and,
Beryl, I fainted dead away! Well, the next thing I knew something was
licking my face. And someone was saying something queer, and Beryl, it
was Caesar and that Brina from our House of Rushing Water! Caesar had
heard me call and found me, and then he had barked and howled until
Brina came with a lantern."

Beryl jumped up and down in excitement.

"What happened then?" she cried.

"Brina carried me--and that box--to the house in the wood. It seemed I'd
gotten most to it and didn't know it. And the Queen was awf