ie, "I must see Aunt Amy. _I must, I must, I must!_"

Till four o'clock Bertie sat patiently waiting for an answer to his
note, then the _commissionaire_ came and told him that there was no
chance of the gentleman he wanted being there that day; so he went
back to Mincing Lane, only to find the office shut up, and then, for
the first time, he glanced at a clock, and saw that it was a quarter
after four. He had no very definite idea of how the time had gone,
but the one uppermost idea still in his mind was to get to Aunt Amy,
and tell her all his troubles, and ask her if she thought he had been
so very much to blame.

[Illustration: "BERTIE WAS IN HER ARMS IN A MOMENT" (_p. 288_).]

At length Bertie started to walk home; he had no ticket, for he had
gone to the office with his uncle before his holiday; and he had no
money: his last penny had been spent at Brighton, and Mr. Gregory had
not remembered to give him his usual weekly allowance; but there was
the savings' bank: he could get some of his own money and go to see
Aunt Amy at once. But the "book" was at Kensington, he remembered,
and he called to mind, too, that the people at the Post Office wanted
notice before paying any deposits, so that would not do. In his sore
trouble and impatience he wanted to rush off to the station that
moment, and even an express train would be far too slow for his
wishes. As he walked towards Kensington he kept thinking all the time
how he was to get the money. Whom could he ask to help him? But he
did not ask any one, and at last, weary with his walk and his
troubled thoughts, hot and dusty, he turned into the Park, and threw
himself on the grass in the quietest spot he could find. He was close
to Kensington Gardens, and a few minutes would bring him home; but
Bertie felt as if he must have a rest before the duties of the
evening commenced. For the first time in his life his work seemed
distasteful to him, and the idea of being shut up alone with his
uncle in the library after what had taken place was almost
unbearable. If he only could get away to Aunt Amy and tell her all,
it would be such a comfort. Once he pulled out his watch, and for a
moment thought of selling it, then with a start he remembered that it
was his dear father's last present. Above all things, he could not
part with that. It really seemed as if there were no resource but to
wait till he got his money from the savings' bank, and by that time
Aunt Amy would be just