aking hold of them by the shoulders shook them
angrily as she cried in a hoarse voice:

"Ah, you wicked bad ones, I thought you were lost! I thought the
kidnappers had taken you away for ever."

"Oh, we are too big for that!" cried Bunny, "and you need not be in
such a rage, Sophie, we only went up in the lift, as Mervyn wanted
to see what it was like;" and she walked past the maid with a
scornful toss of her little head.

"I am very sorry, Sophie, indeed I am," said Mervyn gently; "I did
not know we had so far to go. I am sorry you thought we were lost."

"Ah! much I care whether you are sorry or not," cried the angry
maid. "It will be like Mademoiselle Bunny's sorrow--it will last one
minute--and then off to some more naughty things," and with a push
and a slap Sophie drove the two children on before her, over the
bridge and away home to Holly Lodge.

"And now," she cried as they reached the hall door, "I will march
you both up to Miss Kerr, and see what she will do with you. Some
punishment should be given to you, and I don't know what to do."

"Oh, very well!" said Bunny, "we'll go and tell Miss Kerr ourselves.
You need not come with us, we don't want you at all. Come along,
Mervyn;" and taking the little boy by the hand, she dragged him up
the stairs after her.

[Illustration: Chapter decoration.]

CHAPTER VII.

IN MISS KERR'S ROOM.

When the two children reached Miss Kerr's bed-room, they found the
door shut, and feeling quite certain that she was there, they
knocked gently, and then stood very still upon the mat, expecting
every moment to hear her voice calling to them to go in.

"Dear Miss Kerr," said Bunny at last, as, growing impatient at the
delay, she put her little mouth to the key-hole and tried very hard
to make herself heard within the room, "Mervyn and I want to tell
you something, so please, please, open the door and let us in."

But to her surprise she received no answer, and becoming more and
more cross and impatient, she rattled the handle as noisily as
possible in order to attract Miss Kerr's attention.

"I can't make out why she doesn't speak to us," said Mervyn in a
whisper. "I think she must be asleep."

"Asleep!" exclaimed Bunny indignantly. "She isn't a baby, and she
isn't ill, so why should she be asleep at this time of the day?"

"Well, in India people sleep in the day when they're not a bit ill,
just because it's hot--so why shouldn't they here?"

"What a lot of