I wanted to go to my
grand mother and I was not allowed. Do you know, something very
particular had been going on in the fountain-room; and as they all came
out again I crept behind Orion into the tablinum--there are such
wonderful things there, and I wanted just to frighten him a little; we
have often played games together before. At first he did not see me, and
as he was bending over the hanging, from which the gem was stolen--I
believe he was counting the stones in the faded old thing--I just jumped
on to his shoulder, and he was so frightened--I can tell you, awfully
frightened! And he turned upon me like a fighting-cock and--and he gave
me a box on the ear; such a slap, it is burning now--and all sorts of
colors danced before my eyes. He always used to be so nice and kind to
me, and to you, too, and so I used to be fond of him--he is my uncle
too--but a box on the ears, a slap such as the cook might give to the
turnspit--I am too big for that; that I will certainly not put up with
it! Since my last birthday all the slaves and upper servants, too, have
had to treat me as a lady and to bow down to me! And now!--it was just
here.--How dare he?" She began to cry again and sobbed out: "But that was
not all. He locked me into the dark tablinum and left--left me. . . ."
her tears flowed faster and faster, "left me sitting there! It was so
horrible; and I might have been there now if I had not found a gold
plate; I seized my great-grandfather--I mean the silver image of Menas,
and hammered on it, and screamed Fire! Then Sebek heard me and fetched
Orion, and he let me out, and made such a fuss over me and kissed me. But
what is the good of that; my grandfather will be angry, for in my terror
I beat his father's nose quite flat on the plate."

Paula had listened, now amused and now grave, to the little girl's story;
when she ceased, she once more wiped her eyes and said:

"Your uncle is a man, and you must not play with him as if he were a
child like yourself. The reminder you got was rather a hard one, no
doubt, but Orion tried to make up for it.--But the great hunt, what was
that?"

At this question Mary's eyes suddenly sparkled again. In an instant all
her woes were forgotten, even her ancestor's flattened nose, and with a
merry, hearty laugh she exclaimed:

"Oh! you should have seen it! You would have been amused too. They wanted
to catch the bad man who cut the emerald out of the hanging. He had left
his shoes and t