clever at arranging
flowers prettily, and she was so sure of Baby's quiet ways when he was
left to himself, that she never gave a thought to him once she saw him
safely settled in the garden with Minet. It was such a safe garden.
There really was no part of it where a child could get into any trouble,
for though there was a little water in the basin from which rose the
fountain, it was so little, that not even Minet could have wetted much
more than her paws in it. So Lisa went on quite comfortably doing the
flowers and arranging the dessert in the pantry, by way of giving
Francois a lesson, and now and then she would glance out of the window
which looked on to the garden, and, seeing Baby there with Minet, she
felt quite easy. She did once say to herself,

"I wonder why Herr Baby begged so to have his best hat to-day--but he is
one good child, one should please him sometimes."

I am afraid the truth was that Lisa spoilt her dear Baby a little!

After a while she looked out again. She did not see Herr Baby this time,
but she did not think anything of it.

"They will have gone to play among the bushes," she said to herself,
meaning by "they" Baby and Minet of course, and she went on with what
she was doing, and got so interested in helping Peters to explain to
Francois that in England people always changed the wine glasses at the
end of dinner, and put clean ones for dessert, that the time went on
without it ever entering her head to say to herself, "What can have
become of Herr Baby?"

Mother and auntie were later than they had expected of returning from
their drive. They had gone a long way, and coming back it was mostly
up-hill.

"Fritz will be thinking we have forgotten him," said mother, looking at
her watch, "but I told him to be sure to wait till we came. He is too
little to go home alone yet, at least till he knows his way quite well
or can speak enough to ask."

"We might have told Celia and Denny to call for him, as they are out
with Mademoiselle," said auntie.

Just then in turning a corner, for they were quite in the town now,
auntie's eyes caught sight of the narrow street where the old curiosity
shop was.

"By the by," she said, "I should so like to ask about that picture. I
told you about it, you remember, May?"--May, you know, was the
children's mother's name--"have we time to go that way?"

"I'm afraid not; we are late already," said mother. "I'm so sorry."

"Oh, never mind, another day will