f so excellent a game of
hide-and-seek. "If once I got into that wood, they'd never find me
unless I let them. Only it would be a good deal easier if I wore a
dark frock."

"You shall!" cried the duchess. "It would be perfectly splendid! I
know you're a clever little girl. Otherwise you couldn't have made
them believe for so long at Ricksborough Court that you were Marion.
Cook shall make you up a packet of sandwiches so that you won't starve;
and if you can keep them busy till the afternoon, we shall have all the
time we want to get comfortably away."

"I think I can," said Pollyooly with the confidence born of much
experience in hide-and-seek. "But even if they do catch me, they won't
know I'm not Lady Marion; I'm sure I can keep them from bothering you
all day."

The duchess kissed her again, and said:

"I shall be ever so much obliged to you if you do. But half a day will
be quite enough. And now you'd better go to bed; you must be sleepy,
and the more sleep you get the fresher you'll be to-morrow. I shall be
gone long before you're up."

She took her up-stairs to Marion's bedroom, a charming room on the
first floor, and Pollyooly found the most comfortable spring bed so
lulling that in spite of her expectation of an exciting morrow, she
soon fell asleep.

The yet more excited duchess was longer falling asleep; but she rose at
half-past five and dressed and breakfasted. It was a quarter past six
when she came out into the garden, on her way to the station, and found
the detective sunning himself, after the chill of his night-watch, on
the garden fence at a point from which he had under observation both
the path to the front door and that to the back. He had a rather heavy
face, but he showed a proper sense of her rank and position, for he
rose and raised his hat nearly three inches, respectfully.

A woman of the world, the duchess knew the advantage of his having a
tale to think upon, for she said with a nice show of indignation:

"I'm going straight to my solicitor in town to take the final steps to
have this persecution stopped! I'm going to have you removed by the
police. You enter this house and touch my little girl at your own
risk! I've warned you."

"Yes, your Grace. Quite so, your Grace. It'll be all right, your
Grace," said the detective, sleepily vague, but anxious to propitiate.

The duchess walked briskly down to the station.

CHAPTER VI

POLLYOOLY PLAYS HER FAVOURIT