it. And so you think
too it's best to go straight to the police at Monkhaven."

"I do so," said Peter, and thus it was settled.

There were some tears, as might have been expected, and not only on the
children's part, when they came to say good-bye to Mrs. Peter and the
baby. But they soon dried in the excitement of getting on shore again
and setting off under Tim's care on the last stage of their journey
"home."

"Is it a very long walk, do you think, Tim?" they asked. "Us knows the
way a _long_ way down the Sandle'ham road. Is that Sandle'ham?" as they
saw the roofs and chimneys of Monkhaven before them.

"I wish it were!" said Tim. "No, that's a place they call Monkhaven, but
it's on the road to Sandle'ham. Did you never hear tell of Monkhaven,
master and missy?--think now."

But after "thinking" for half a quarter of the second, the two fair
heads gave it up.

"No; us had never heard of Monkhaven. What did it matter? Us would much
rather go straight home."

Then Tim had to enter upon an explanation. He did not know the nearest
way to Sandle'ham, and they might wander about the country, losing their
way. They had very little money, and it most likely was too far to walk.
He was afraid to ask unless sure it was of some one he could trust; for
Mick might have sent word to some one at Monkhaven about them. Then
after Sandle'ham, which way were they to go? There was but one thing to
do--ask the police. The police would take care of them and set them on
the way.

But oh, poor Tim! Little did he know the effect of that fatal word, and
yet he had far more reason to dread the police than the twins could
have. More than once he had only just escaped falling into its clutches,
and all through his vagrant life he had of course come to regard its
officers as his natural enemies. But he had put all that aside, and,
strong in his good cause, was ready now to turn to them as the
children's protectors. Duke and Pamela, on the contrary, who had no real
reason for being afraid of the police, were in frantic terror; their
poor little imaginations set to work and pictured "prison" as where they
were sure to be sent to. They would rather go back to the gipsies, they
would rather wander about the fields with Tim till they died--rather
_anything_ than go near the police. And they cried and sobbed and hung
upon Tim in their panic of terror, till the poor boy was fairly at his
wit's end, and had to give in so far as to promise to s