im tell you?"

"Tim, Tim, I know nought of who Tim is, my dearies," said Barbara,
shaking her head. "If it's any one that's been good to you, so much the
better. I've been at Nooks, the village hard by, for some days with my
niece. I meant to have stayed but two or three nights, but I've been
more nor a week, and a worry in my heart all the time not to get back
home to hear if there was no news of you, and how my poor lady was. And
to think if I _had_ gone home I wouldn't have met you--dear--dear--but
the ordering of things is wonderful!"

"And didn't you come to look for us, then? But why is Toby with you?"
asked the children.

"He was worritting your dear Grandmamma. There was no peace with him
after you were lost. And though I didn't rightly come to Monkhaven to
look for you, I had a feeling--it was bore in on me that I'd maybe find
some trace of you, and I thought Toby would be the best help. And truly
I could believe he'd scented you were not far off--the worry he's been
all this morning! A-barking and a-sniffing and a-listening like! I was
in two minds as to which way I'd take this morning--round by Monkhaven
or by the lane. But Toby he was all for the lane, and so I just took his
way, the Lord be thanked!"

"He _knowed_ us was here--he did, didn't he? Oh, darling Toby!" cried
the twins.

But then Barbara had to be told all. Not very clear was the children's
account of their adventures at first; for the losing of Tim and the
vision of the policeman and the canal boat were the topmost on their
minds, and came tumbling out long before anything about the gipsies,
which of course was the principal thing to tell. Bit by bit, however,
thanks to her patience, their old friend came to understand the whole.
She heaved a deep sigh at last.

"To think that it was the gipsies after all."

But she made not many remarks, and said little about the
broken-bowl-part of the story. It would be for their dear Grandmamma to
show them where they had been wrong, she thought modestly, if indeed
they had not found it out for themselves already. I think they had.

"Us is always going to tell Grandmamma _everyfing_ now," said Pamela.

"And us is always going to listen to the talking of that little voice,"
added Duke.

But the first excitement over, old Barbara began to notice that the
children were looking very white and tired. How was she ever to get them
to Brigslade--a five miles' walk at least--where again, for she had
chos