ing of London in July in search of a situation. What
in the name of common sense and natural affection do they mean by
lugging Dora into the risk!" he grumbled and worried. "Oh! yes, of
course she would follow Annie or any of the rest of them fast enough if
she had the opportunity, though she were to die at the end of it; but
she ought never to have had the opportunity, it was preposterous to let
her. The whole thing is monstrous. I never heard of such rashness. What
can Dr. and Mrs. Millar be thinking of?"

It felt queer, to say the least of it, as well as "jolly," to be at
Redcross and not at the Old Doctor's House, over which a bride of
yesterday was presiding, for Dr. Capes's marriage had taken place
simultaneously with his purchase of Dr. Millar's practice.

Annie used to look over from the opposite side of the street, as she was
walking along, at the alterations which were being made in the garden,
and the new arrangement of the window curtains, and try to criticize
them impartially. Then she had to call and see Dr. Capes, and wait in
the familiar consulting-room till he insisted on taking her to the
drawing-room, in order to introduce her to his wife, who had come a
stranger to Redcross. Annie felt as if she were a disembodied spirit, or
a dreamer in a dream from which she could not awake, while she gazed on
the changed yet well-known aspect of everything around her. But she had
to think of Dr. and Mrs. Capes, in whose house she was, and talk civilly
to them of their improvements(!). She had to emulate the submission of
Dora, who had seen the transfer coming and taken part in it. She had to
copy the mercurial spirits of Rose and May. They were so pleased to be
with their father and mother again, and to take possession of Phyllis
Carey's every free moment, that they declared the Robarts's apartments
were the very nicest the girls had ever seen. They, the apartments, were
delightfully cosy (which meant stuffy in July). They were more cheerful
(noisier) than the Old Doctor's House. It was great fun for the pair to
stow themselves and their belongings within such narrow compass.

A serious vexation to Annie at the commencement of her enterprise was
the arrival of Dr. Harry Ironside to diagnose and make what he could of
the fever.

"What is he doing here? His coming at all is most impertinent," cried
Annie indignantly, sitting down on one of the still empty beds in the
barrack-like hall, and as it were daring Rose