Poor Ann burst into tears,
and was only partially comforted when Miss Thompson took her upstairs
and kindly stitched together the worst of the rents so that she might
not look absolutely ragged on her way home.

When the little pony cart drove away from the door Madge returned
rather thoughtfully to the schoolroom with the tortoise-shell cat in
her arms.

"It seems a curious thing," she said, "that people are not always happy
when you mean them to be. I thought Ann would like the same things as
we do, and after all she has gone away almost crying, and hasn't
enjoyed herself a bit."

"Another time," answered Miss Thompson, "when you really wish to give
your guests pleasure, you had better consult their tastes instead of
your own. If you had only considered for a moment, it was not probable
that a town child would be as familiar with animals as you are; and it
was also easy to see that Ann had been dressed in her best clothes for
the afternoon and was afraid of hurting them."

"Perhaps so," said Madge. "But I always think it's rather stupid of
people who don't like the same things as we do, don't you?"

CHAPTER XXIII.

AN END OF HIDING.

At the earliest opportunity on the following day Madge, Betty, and John
returned to the loft to finish their interrupted game. They were three
cavaliers hiding from Cromwell's soldiers, and really a better place of
concealment could not have been found than the loft, where by simply
closing a door they were in almost complete darkness. Madge, as
captain, neglected no opportunity of ensuring the safety of her
followers. She made them crouch down behind the straw, and lie so
still that even the most sharp-sighted Roundheads would scarcely have
suspected their existence.

"I will steal out to keep watch," she whispered, creeping on her hands
and knees towards the closed door. "Posted by the crack of the hinges
I can survey the whole country, and watch the march of the rebel troops
without being seen. Then when-- Oh!"

The door suddenly flew open in her face, almost knocking her over. A
head appeared at the top of the ladder. It was Lewis Brand's!

If the children had really been discovered by Cromwell's soldiers they
could hardly have been more frightened. Lewis had time to step off the
ladder and come into the loft before they recovered themselves
sufficiently to speak.

"You don't seem overjoyed to see a friend?" he remarked sneeringly.

"Oh, do go away!"