difference, I answered again quite coolly--

'No one looked at the tickets at the Junction. There were two or three
empty carriages at the front: perhaps no one noticed us getting in.'

I thought I heard the man murmur to himself something about 'rum go.
Three kids by themselves, and first-class.'

So, though I was getting angrier every moment, I just said--

'I don't see that it matters. Here we are, anyway, and I'll pay if
you'll tell me how much.'

He counted up.

'Eight-and-six--no, eight-and-tenpence.'

I held out the half-sovereign. He felt in his pocket and gave me back
the change--a shilling and twopence, and walked off with the halves of
Pete's and my return tickets and the half-sovereign.

We all began to breathe more freely; but, as the train slowly moved
again at last--we had been standing quite a quarter-of-an-hour--a new
trouble started.

'It's very dark,' said Margaret, 'and it can't be late yet.'

I looked out of the window. Yes, it was very dark. I put my head out. It
felt awfully chilly too--a horrid sort of chilly feeling. But that
wasn't the worst of it.

'It's a fog,' I said. 'The horridest kind--I can't see the lights almost
close to us. It's getting worse every minute. I believe it'll be as dark
as midnight when we get into the station. What luck, to be sure!'

The other two seemed more excited than frightened.

'I've never seen a really bad fog,' said Margaret, as if she was rather
pleased to have the chance.

Pete said nothing. I expect he'd have had a fairy-tale all ready about a
prince lost in a mist, if I'd given him an opening. But I was again
rather taken aback. How were we to find our way to Enderby Street?

I had meant to walk, you see, in spite of the red bundle! For I was
afraid of being cheated by the cabman; and I was afraid too of running
quite short of money, in case we _didn't_ find Mrs. Wylie, or that she
had left, and that, if the worst came to the worst, I might have to go
to a hotel with the two children, and telegraph to mamma to say where we
were. Papa, unluckily, was not in London just then. He had gone away on
business somewhere--I forget where--for a day or two, and besides, I was
not at all sure of the exact address of his chambers, otherwise I might
have telegraphed _there_. I only knew it was a long way from Victoria.

Indeed, I don't think I thought about that at all at the time, though
afterwards mamma said to me I might have done so, _had_ the worst