ll her Bridget O'Shaughnessy is hers to the death.
_I_ wouldn't cry, Pixie, if I were going to see the queen!"

"Is it cry?" asked Pixie airily, with the tears pouring down her face
and splashing on to her collar, which had been manufactured out of the
strings of an old bonnet, with only three joins at the back to betray
the fact that it had not been cut out of "the piece."

"It's not likely I'll cry, when I'm going on a real train and steamer,
and meals on the way right up to to-morrow night! _You_ never had lunch
on a train, Bridgie, and you are eight years older than me!"

"'Deed I didn't, then. No such luck!" sighed Bridgie regretfully,
making the most of her own privation for the encouragement of the young
traveller. "That will be a treat for you, Pixie, and there are
sandwiches and cakes in the dining-room for you to eat before you go.
Come straight in, for I brought down your coat before going out. You
must write often, dear, and tell us every single thing. What Miss
Phipps is like, and the other teachers, and the girls in your class, and
who sleeps in your bedroom, and every single thing that happens to you."

"And remember to write every second letter to your brothers, for if you
don't, they won't write to you. Girls get all the letters, and it isn't
fair. Tell us if you play any games, and what sort of food they give
you, and what you think of the English," said Miles, helping himself to
sandwiches, and turning over the cakes to select the most tempting for
his own refreshment, despite the young housekeeper's frowns of
disapproval. "Stick up for your country, and stand no cheek. You
understand, of course, that you are to be the Champion of Ireland in the
school."

"I do!" said little Pixie, and her back straightened, and her head
reared itself in proud determination.

"And if any English upstarts dare to try bullying you, just let them
know that your name is O'Shaughnessy, and that your ancestors were Kings
of Ireland when theirs were begging bread on the streets! Talk to them
straight, and let them know who they are dealing with!"

"I will so!" said Pixie. She chuckled gleefully at the anticipation;
but, alas! her joy was short-lived, for at that moment the shabby
dogcart passed the window, and the Major's voice was heard calling
impatiently from the hall.

"Ten minutes late already. We shall need all our time. Tumble in, now,
tumble in! You have had the whole morning for saying good-bye