en they got home he invited them all to come into his
smoking-room, a little slit of a place off the dining-room.

Esther took the General upstairs, but the others followed him in
silence.

"Sit down, Pip, my boy," he said genially. "Come, Meg, make yourself
at home, take a seat in that armchair. Nell and Baby can occupy
the lounge."

They all sat down helplessly where he told them, and watched his
face anxiously.

He selected a pipe from the row over the mantelpiece, fitted a new
mouthpiece to it, and carefully filled it.

"As you are all in possession of my room," he said in an urbane voice,
"I can hardly smoke with any comfort here, I am afraid. I will come
and talk to you again later on. I am going to have a pipe first in
the old loft in the cow paddock. Keep out of mischief till I come back."

He struck a match, lighted his tobacco, and, without a glance at the
silent children, left the room, locking the door behind him.

Once more he crossed the paddocks, and once more pushed open the
creaking door. The orange peel lay just where he had seen it before,
only it was a little drier and more dead-looking. The hair ribbon
was in exactly the same knot. The ladder creaked in just the same
place, and again threatened to break his neck when he reached the top.
The dominoes were there still, the ham-bone and the pillow occupied
the same places; the only difference being the former had a black
covering of ants now, and a wind had been playing with the pillow,
and had carried the feathers in all directions.

He crossed the floor, not softly, but just with his usual measured
military-step. Nothing moved. He reached the partition and looked
over.

Judy lay across the improvised bed, sleeping a sleep of utter
exhaustion after her rapid flight from the river. She had a frock of
Meg's on, that made her look surprisingly long and thin; he was
astonished to think she had grown so much.

"There will be no end to my trouble with her as she grows older," he
said, half aloud, feeling extremely sorry for himself for being her
father. Then a great anger and irritation rose within him as he
watched her sleeping so quietly there. Was she always to be a disturber
of his peace? Was she always to thwart him like this?

"Judy," he said in a loud voice.

The closed eyelids sprang open, the mist of sleep and forgetfulness
cleared from the dark eyes, and she sprang up, a look of absolute
horror on her face.

"What a