rd apart in the gutter. You were wrong, captain, in
not giving them a look."

"Why?"

"_Simply because, as they lay, two sixes were uppermost._"

The two captains stared at him.

"I give you my word," he said quietly.

"My dear Jack--"

"That settles it, Jemmy."

They took each other's hand.

"But excuse me," said Dr. Beckerleg, "this is not what I came to tell
you. Just now I have given Tristram leave to stroll out into the
garden for an hour and he is waiting for you to dress him."

But here the doctor made a mistake, for when they went upstairs there
was no sign of Tristram. He and his clothes had disappeared.

They ran down to the front-door and looked around. There was no sign
of him.

Finally Dr. Beckerleg advanced to the little blue door in the hedge,
opened it, and poked his head into Captain Runacles' garden. Then he
turned softly and, putting a finger to his lip, beckoned to the
others. They advanced on tip-toe and peeped through.

Beside a garden-bed, half a dozen yards away, and with their backs to
the door, knelt Sophia and Tristram. The youth's left arm was around
the girl's waist, and the youth's hair mingled with the girl's as
unconscious of observation they bent over the mould. It was the same
mould in which Sophia, years before, had buried her doll, and now
Tristram was helping Sophia to sprinkle it with pepper-cress seed;
holding her right hand as she traced this:

[Illustration: Two overlapping hearts, one containing the letter 'S'
and the other the letter 'T'.]

The watchers withdrew as softly as they had advanced. But on his way
back to the bonfire Captain Barker darted into the house and emerged
again with an armful of green volumes.

"What's the meaning of this?" asked Dr. Beckerleg.

The little man trotted round and shot his burden right on top of the
pile which Narcissus had by this time stirred into a blaze.

"There doesn't seem to be any further use for 'em," he explained,
panting and running back to the house.

He fetched another armful, and then another; and as he discharged the
last upon the bonfire, turned and laid a hand upon Captain Runacles'
arm.

"Jemmy, old friend, we needn't to have made such a fuss about it,
after all."

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BLUE PAVILIONS***

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