ost bursting with the importance of his
knowledge. "No one's seen her but me; I've nearly got killed
with climbing up cactuses and into windows and things, and I've had
thrashings from Father and everything, but I never told a word, did
I, Meg? I've got her up in the shed here, and I went and got corned
beef and everything just you look at my legs:"

He displayed his scars proudly, but Meg hurried on, and Pip and Nell
followed in blank amazement. At the shed they stopped.

"It's a yarn of Bunty's," Pip said contemptuously. "'Tisn't April
the first yet, my son."

"Come and see," Bunty returned, swarming up. Pip followed, and gave
a low cry; then Meg and Nell, with rather more difficulty, scrambled
up, and the scene was complete.

The delirium had passed, and Judy was lying with wide-open eyes
gazing in a tired way at the rafters.

She smiled up at them as they gathered round her. "If Mahomet won't
come to the mountain," she said, and then coughed for two or three
minutes.

"What have you been doing, Ju, old girl?" Pip said, with an odd
tremble in his voice. The sight of his favourite sister, thin,
hollow-checked, exhausted, was too much for his boyish manliness.
A moisture came to his eyes.

"How d'you come, Ju?" he said, blinking it away.

And the girl gave her old bright look up at him. "Sure and they
keep no pony but shank's at school," she said; "were you afther
thinkin' I should charter a balloon?"

She coughed again.

Meg dropped down on her knees and put her arms round her little thin
sister.

"Judy," she cried, "oh, Judy, Judy! my dear, my dear!"

Judy laughed for a little time, and called her an old silly, but she
soon broke down and sobbed convulsively. "I'm so hungry," she said,
at last pitifully.

They all four, started up as though they would fetch the stores of
Sydney to satisfy her. Then Meg sat down again and lifted the
rough, curly head on her lap.

"You go, Pip," she said, "and bring wine and a glass, and in the
meat-safe there's some roast chicken; I had it for my lunch, and
Martha said she would put the rest there till tea; and be quick, Pip."

"My word!" said Pip to himself, and he slipped down and flew across
to the house.

"Up_on_ my word!" said Martha, meeting him in the hall five minutes
later, a cut-glass decanter under his arm, a wineglass held in his
teeth by the stem, a dish of cold chicken in his hand, and bread
and butter in a little stack beside the chicken.