apa would never put Mick in prison if us asked him not, and p'raps
if Mick was sure of that he'd take us home. Oh don't you fink us might
go and ask him," and she started up.

"Us can't promise it; Grandpapa'd _have_ to do it. It'd be his _dooty_,"
said Duke sternly--his ideas on all subjects were very grim at
present--"he'd have to stop Mick going and stealing away other children
like he did us. And Diana said us mustn't speak to _nobody_ about what
she told us."

"I don't care about it if it isn't that us is going home," said Pamela,
crying quietly. "I don't care about gold frocks like fairies and all
that if dear Grandmamma and Grandpapa can't see us."

Duke looked at her gloomily.

"P'raps Diana meant us'd soon be going to heaven," he said at last. "I
heard them saying us'd 'not stand it long,' and I know that means going
to die."

"I don't care," sobbed Pamela again, "if Grandpapa and Grandmamma are
dead, heaven'd be the best place for us to go to;" and regardless of all
Diana had said to her about trying to eat and to keep up her spirits,
the little girl let the tin plate, with the greasy meat and gravy, slip
off her knees on to the floor, and, leaning her head on the hard wooden
bench, she went off in a fit of piteous and hopeless sobbing. In a
moment Duke's arms were around her, and he was kissing and hugging and
doing his best to console her.

"Dear little sister," he cried, "don't be so _very_ unhappy. It was very
naughty of me to say dear Grandpapa and Grandmamma and everybody would
be dead."

"And Toby," interrupted Pamela. "Did you mean Toby too?"

Duke considered.

"No, I don't think I meant Toby. He must be a good deal younger than
Grandpapa and Grandmamma, and I don't think he'd be _quite_ so unhappy
about us as they'd be."

"If _I'd_ been Toby I'd have come to look for us," said Pamela, crying
now less violently. "Us could have wrote a letter and tied it to his
collar, and then Grandpapa could have come to look for us. Toby can run
so fast," and she was going on to describe what she would have done in
Toby's place when the little door of the van opened and Diana
reappeared. Her face clouded as she looked at the children.

"Crying again! Oh missie," she said reproachfully, "that's not good of
you. You'll cry yourself ill, and then----" Diana in turn looked round
and lowered her voice, "have you forgotten the secret I told you? You'll
never get away where you'd like to be if you make yoursel