he never alludes to it in his letters."

"Sell it," said Mrs. Cluffins peremptorily. "It's no good to you, and
Hobson would give anything for it almost."

Mrs. Gannett shook her head. "The house wouldn't hold my husband if I
did," she remarked with a shiver.

"Oh, yes, it would," said Mrs. Cluffins; "you do as I tell you, and a
much smaller house than this would hold him. I told C. to tell Hobson he
should have it for five pounds."

"But he mustn't," said her friend in alarm.

"Leave yourself right in my hands," said Mrs. Cluffins, spreading out
two small palms and regarding them complacently. "It'll be all right, I
promise you."

She put her arm round her friend's waist and led her to the window,
talking earnestly. In five minutes Mrs. Gannett was wavering, in ten she
had given way, and in fifteen the energetic Mrs. Cluffins was _en route_
for Hobson's, swinging the cage so violently in her excitement that the
parrot was reduced to holding on to its perch with claws and bill. Mrs.
Gannett watched the progress from the window, and with a queer look on
her face sat down to think out the points of attack and defence in the
approaching fray.

A week later a four-wheeler drove up to the door, and the engineer,
darting upstairs three steps at a time, dropped an armful of parcels
on the floor, and caught his wife in an embrace which would have done
credit to a bear. Mrs. Gannett, for reasons of which lack of muscle was
only one, responded less ardently.

"Ha, it's good to be home again," said Gannett, sinking into an
easy-chair and pulling his wife on his knee. "And how have you been?
Lonely?"

"I got used to it," said Mrs. Gannett softly.

The engineer coughed. "You had the parrot," he remarked.

"Yes, I had the magic parrot," said Mrs. Gannett.

"How's it getting on?" said her husband, looking round. "Where is it?"

"Part of it is on the mantelpiece," said Mrs. Gannett, trying to speak
calmly, "part of it is in a bonnet-box upstairs, some of it's in my
pocket, and here is the remainder."

She fumbled in her pocket and placed in his hand a cheap two-bladed
clasp knife.

"On the mantelpiece!" repeated the engineer staring at the knife; "in a
bonnet-box!" "Those blue vases," said his wife. Mr. Gannett put his hand
to his head. If he had heard aright one parrot had changed into a pair
of vases, a bonnet, and a knife. A magic bird with a vengeance.

"I sold it," said Mrs. Gannett suddenly.

The engineer's k