t the
sound of it and at the sight of the Amulet growing into the great arch
the soldier fell flat on his face among the jewels with a cry of awe and
terror.

The children went through the arch with a quickness born of long
practice. But Jane stayed in the middle of the arch and looked back.

The others, standing on the dining-room carpet in Fitzroy Street, turned
and saw her still in the arch. 'Someone's holding her,' cried Cyril. 'We
must go back.'

But they pulled at Jane's hands just to see if she would come, and, of
course, she did come.

Then, as usual, the arch was little again and there they all were.

'Oh, I do wish you hadn't!' Jane said crossly. 'It WAS so interesting.
The priest had come in and he was kicking the soldier, and telling
him he'd done it now, and they must take the jewels and flee for their
lives.'

'And did they?'

'I don't know. You interfered,' said Jane ungratefully. 'I SHOULD have
liked to see the last of it.'

As a matter of fact, none of them had seen the last of it--if by 'it'
Jane meant the adventure of the Priest and the Soldier.

CHAPTER 12. THE SORRY-PRESENT AND THE EXPELLED LITTLE BOY

'Look here, said Cyril, sitting on the dining-table and swinging his
legs; 'I really have got it.'

'Got what?' was the not unnatural rejoinder of the others.

Cyril was making a boat with a penknife and a piece of wood, and the
girls were making warm frocks for their dolls, for the weather was
growing chilly.

'Why, don't you see? It's really not any good our going into the Past
looking for that Amulet. The Past's as full of different times as--as
the sea is of sand. We're simply bound to hit upon the wrong time. We
might spend our lives looking for the Amulet and never see a sight of
it. Why, it's the end of September already. It's like looking for a
needle in--'

'A bottle of hay--I know,' interrupted Robert; 'but if we don't go on
doing that, what ARE we to do?'

'That's just it,' said Cyril in mysterious accents. 'Oh, BOTHER!'

Old Nurse had come in with the tray of knives, forks, and glasses,
and was getting the tablecloth and table-napkins out of the chiffonier
drawer.

'It's always meal-times just when you come to anything interesting.'

'And a nice interesting handful YOU'D be, Master Cyril,' said old Nurse,
'if I wasn't to bring your meals up to time. Don't you begin grumbling
now, fear you get something to grumble AT.'

'I wasn't grumbling,' said Cyril quite un