once into the cheerful sunlight, but
it did not yet yield the warmth that he needed; and all her soothing
words could not check the nervous tremor, though he held her so tight
that it seemed as if he would never let her go.

'You shall come home with me, my dear little boy; you shall have some
breakfast, and then I will take you safe home to Beauchamp.'

'Oh, if you please!' said the boy, gratefully.

Exercise was thawing his numbed limbs, and his eyes brightened.

'Whom were you with?' she asked. 'Who could have forgotten you?'

'I came with Lieschen and nurse and the babies. The others went out with
Mademoiselle.'

'And you went to sleep?'

'Yes; I liked to see the mason go chip, chip, and I wanted to see them
fit the thing in. I got into that great pew, to see better; and I made
myself a nest, but at last they were all gone.'

'And what did you do, then? Were you afraid?'

'I didn't know what to do. I ran all about to see if I could look out at
a window, but I couldn't.'

'Did you try to call?'

'Wouldn't it have been naughty?' said the boy; and then with an impulse
of honest truthfulness, 'I did try once; but do you know, there was
another voice came back again, and I thought that _die Geistern wachten
sich auf_.'

'The what?'

'_Die Geistern das Lieschen sagt in die Gewolben wohnen_,' said little
Robert, evidently quite unconscious whether he spoke German or English.

'So you could not call for the echo. Well, did you not think of the
bells?'

'Yes; but, oh! the door was shut; and then, I'll tell you--but don't tell
Mervyn--I did cry.'

'Indeed, I don't wonder. It must have been very lonely.'

'I didn't like it,' said Robert, shivering; and getting to his German
again, he described '_das Gewitter_' beating on the panes, with wind and
whirling leaves, and the unearthly noises of the creaking vane. The
terror of the lonely, supperless child was dreadful to think of; and she
begged to know what he could have done as it grew dark.

'I got to Mr. Charlecote,' said Robert--an answer that thrilled her all
over. 'I said I'd be always very good, if he would take care of me, and
not let them frighten me. And so I did go to sleep.'

'I'm sure Mr. Charlecote would, my dear little man,' began Honora, then
checked by remembering what he would have said. 'But didn't you think of
One more sure to take care of you than Mr. Charlecote?'

'Lieschen talks of _der Lieber Gott_,' said the little boy.