z, if you'll bend down."

But Celia thought this was too bad.

"_I_ didn't call you a goose, Baby," she said. "I think you might tell
me too."

"And I'll promise never to call you a goose again if you'll tell _me_,"
said Denny.

Baby had a great soul. It was beneath him to take a mean revenge, he
felt, especially on a _girl_! So he shut his little mouth tightly, knit
his little brows, and thought it over for a moment or two. Then his
face cleared.

"Him _will_ tell you all--all you children," he said at last, "but it's
werry long and dedful wonderful, and you mustn't inrumpt him. P'omise?"

"Promise," shouted the three.

"Well then, litsen. We's all goin' away--zeally away--over the
sea--dedful far. As far as the sky, p'raps."

"In a balloon?" said Denny, whose tongue wouldn't keep still even though
she was very much interested in the news.

"No, in a boat," replied Baby, forgetting to notice that this was an
"inrumption," "in a werry 'normous boat. All's going. Him was looking
for 'tamps in mother's basket of teared letters under the little table,
and mother and ganfather and auntie didn't know him were there, and
ganfather said to mother somesing him couldn't understand--somesing
about _thit_ house, and mother said, yes, 'twould be a werry good thing
to go away 'fore the cold weather comed, and the children would be
p'eased. And auntie said she would like to tell the children, but----"

Another "inrumption." This time from Fritz.

"Baby, stop a minute," he exclaimed. "Celia, Denny--Baby's too little
to understand, but," and here Fritz's round chubby face got very red,
"don't you think we've no right to let him tell, if it's something
mother means to tell us herself? She didn't know Baby was there--he said
so."

But before Celia or Denny could answer, Baby turned upon Fritz.

"Him _tolded_ you not to inrumpt," he said, with supreme contempt. "If
you would litsen you would see. Mother _did_ know him was there at the
ending, for auntie said she'd like to tell the children--that's you, and
Denny and Celia--but him comed out from the little table and said _him_
would like to tell the children hisself. And mother were dedful
surprised, and so was ganfather and auntie. And then they all bursted
out laughing and told him lots of things--about going in the railway,
and in a 'normous boat to that other country, where there's cows to pull
the carts, and all the people talk lubbish-talk, like Lisa when she's
cros