ut youth's
arrival before he appeared. The sky had seemed to darken, the air to
thicken, the birds to gather in the "rooky" wood.

He had trembled and shaken, his teeth had chattered and his throat grown
dry for no reason at all. As he had once felt about Johnny Bain so
now he felt about life in general. Something horrible was going to
happen.... Something to do with Mother.... As he came up the road to
their house his heart beat so that he could not hear his own steps.

II

They entered the house, and at once even Mary, preoccupied as she was
with her story about the sailor, noticed that something was wrong.

"Rose! Rose!" she called out loudly.

"Hush!" said Miss Jones. "You must be quiet, dear."

"Why?" said Mary. "I want Rose to--"

"Your mother isn't at all well, dear. I--"

And she was interrupted by Rose, who, coming suddenly downstairs, with a
face very different from her usual cheerful one, said something to Miss
Jones in a low voice.

Miss Jones gave a little cry: "So soon?... A girl...." And then added:
"How is she?"

Then Rose said something more, which the children could not catch, and
vanished.

"Very quietly, children," said Miss Jones, in a voice that trembled;
"and you mustn't leave the schoolroom till I tell you. Your mother--"
She broke off as though she were afraid of showing emotion.

"What is it?" said Jeremy in a voice that seemed new to them all--older,
more resolute, strangely challenging for so small a boy.

"Your mother's very ill, Jeremy, dear. You must be a very good boy, and
help your sisters."

"Mightn't I go for just a minute?"

"No, certainly not."

They all went upstairs. Then, in the schoolroom, Miss Jones said an
amazing thing. She said:

"I must tell you all, children, that you've got a new little sister."

"A new sister!" screamed Mary.

Helen said: "Oh, Miss Jones!"

Jeremy said: "What did she come for just now, when Mother is ill?"

"God wanted her to come, dear," said Miss Jones. "You must all be very
kind to her, and do all you can--"

She was interrupted by a torrent of questions from the two girls. What
was she like? What was her name? Could she walk? Where did she come
from? Did Father and Mother find her in Drymouth? And so on. Jeremy was
silent. At last he said: "We don't want any more girls here."

"Better than having another boy," said Helen.

But he would not take up the challenge. He sat on his favourite seat
on the window-ledge,