too. She
always says there's a breeze up here almost as good as the sea.'

'I wish Aunt Mattie's house was near the moor too,' said Miss Mouse.
'Where is it you go to school, Justin, and how do you mean you only pass
the Crags' house on fine days?'

'Because when it's _awfully_ rainy or snowy, or anything out of the
common, we go in the pony-cart by the proper road, and when it's
middling we go half-way by the moor, turning into the road a good bit
before we come to Bob's. It's rather boggy land about there, and we get
all muddy and wet unless it's really dry weather. We don't go to school,
we go to Mr. Pierce's--at Whitcrow--two miles off--the _road_ to
Whitcrow crosses the road to Aunt Mattie's, farther on. You look out on
your way home, and you'll see a signpost with Whitcrow on one of the
spokes.'

'I'll ask auntie to show it me,' said Miss Mouse. 'O auntie,' she
exclaimed, as the newcomers came within speaking distance, 'it _is_ so
nice up here looking over the moor.'

Her little face had got quite rosy. Aunt Mattie was pleased to see it,
pleased too that Rosamond had evidently already begun to make friends
with Justin--girl-despiser though he was.

'Yes, dear,' she said, 'I love the moor, and I am very glad you do. I
love it all the year round, though it's pretty cold up here in winter,
isn't it, boys?'

Pat came forward a little. He wanted to please his aunt by being nicer
to Rosamond.

'It's _awfully_ cold going to the vicarage some mornings,' he agreed,
'but there's some nice things in winter. Can you skate, Miss Mouse?'

The little girl shook her head.

'No, but I'd like very much to learn,' she replied.

'Then I'll teach you,' said Pat, his face getting a little red, for it
was not certainly his way to put himself about to be amiable. And he had
to suffer for it.

'How polite we are growing all of a sudden,' said Justin, with a laugh.
But he could not mock at Pat's offer, for skating was the one thing of
outdoor exercises in which the younger brother outshone the elder.

Aunt Mattie was quick to scent any approach to a quarrel.

'It must be getting near tea-time,' she said. 'Are you going to invite
us to your schoolroom tea, Justin?'

'Oh yes, of course, if you like,' he answered, in a rather off-hand
tone, 'or we could bring you a cup into the drawing-room; mamma often
has it like that.'

For it was rather before the days of regular drawing-room 'afternoon'
teas.

'Thank you,' replied