e child's pettishness; "Mr.
Huntingdon has a lot of grand people to dine with him to-night. The
carriages will be driving up by and by, and if you are good, you shall
go into one of the best bedrooms and look at them." But Nea was not to
be pacified by this; the tears ended in a fit of perverse sulking that
lasted until bedtime. Nea would neither look at the carriages nor the
people; the ice and fruit that had been provided as a treat were
pushed angrily away; Nea would not look at the dainties--she turned
her flushed face aside and buried it in her pillow. "I want papa," she
sobbed, as nurse pulled down the blind and left her.

That night, as Mr. Huntingdon crossed the corridor that led to his
bedroom, he was startled by seeing what looked like a mass of blue and
white draperies flung across his door, but as he lowered his
candlestick he saw it was Nea lying fast asleep, with her head
pillowed on her arms, and her dark hair half hiding her face.

"Good heavens! what can nurse be about!" he exclaimed in a shocked
voice, as he lifted the child, and carried her back to her bed. Nea
stirred drowsily as he moved her, and said, "Dear papa," and one warm
arm crept about his neck, but she was soon fast asleep again. Somehow
that childish caress haunted Mr. Huntingdon, and he thought once or
twice how pretty she had looked. Nurse had assured him that the child
must have crept out of bed in her sleep, but Mr. Huntingdon did not
feel satisfied, and the next morning, as he was eating his breakfast,
he sent for Nea.

She came to him willingly enough, and stood beside him.

"What were you doing, my dear, last night?" he asked, kindly, as he
kissed her. "Did nurse tell you that I found you lying by my bedroom
door, and that I carried you back to bed?"

"Yes, papa; but why did you not wake me? I tried not to go to sleep
until you came, but I suppose I could not help it."

"But what were you doing?" he asked, in a puzzled tone; "don't you
know, Nea, that it was very wrong for a little girl to be out of her
bed at that time of night?" But as Mr. Huntingdon spoke he remembered
again how sweet the childish face had looked, pillowed on the round
dimpled arm.

"I was waiting to see you, papa," replied Nea with perfect frankness;
"you are always too busy or too tired to come and see me, you know,
and nurse is so cross, and so is Miss Sanderson; they will never let
me come and find you; so when nurse came to take away the lamp I
pret