nt did she loose her hold of her mother's dress. It was
the Royal Navy that finally took her into wonderfully tender keeping, and
carried her up the steps and along the Parade, and laid her, still
wrapped in the rug, on her own white bed, that nurse had made comfortably
ready.

Dickie woke flushed and warm from his rosy sleep when they brought him
in, and looked at the old sailor with round, bewildered eyes.

"Is it Father Neptune?" he asked.

"No, darling, no."

"Oh, I see he hasn't got his three-pronged fork. Is it Nelson then?"

"I am sure I don't know," said Mrs. Beauchamp, and her laugh was very
near tears.--"You will tell the twins at once, please," she said to Mr.
Amherst as she said good-bye. "I cannot bear to feel that they may be
awake and waiting."

But Dot and Dash had not passed a sleepless night of misery. Long ago,
tired out with sorrow, they had fallen asleep on the nursery window-sill,
and dreamt that they were sailing on unknown seas in fairy boats!

CHAPTER XIII.

And the wonderful part of it all was that Susie was not even ill! She
slept "into the middle of next week," as nurse expressed it; but it was
a deep, steady, peaceful sleep, quite undisturbed by any commotion around
her. Amy sat most of the morning crouched up on the floor, just inside
the room, and waited for the opening of those brown eyes; whilst nurse
had even got Dick and baby safely dressed and out on the sands before
Susie's eyelids quivered, and she stretched her stiff limbs, and started
up with a cry, "Mother!"

"My darling Susie!"

"O mother! I was so afraid you were a dream."

"Then what are you?"

"A _troublesome comfort_. Nurse said so, and it is true."

She sat straight up in bed, with her knees drawn up and her hands clasped
round them. Her hair was rough, and there were no little stiff pigtails
telling of nurse's energetic brushing. On her hands there were bruises
and scratches that hurt her; but nothing mattered now that she was within
reach of the comfortable arms, and could lay her head on the blue serge
knee.

"Mummy, is Dick well?"

"Quite well, darling."

"Mother"--she pressed closer and hid her face--"I am sorry, but I don't
know how to say it. I didn't like the twins to think me a baby, and I
felt quite certain that I could get back."

"Perhaps you are too certain, darling."

"You mean," said Susie, "that there is too much talk and too little
_do_."

"Perhaps that _is_ what I mean, Su