ed him and began to stir his tea, while he
chatted to his wife about the poor woman he had been to see.

Ruth sighed.

"Isn't your tea nice, father?" she asked. "You have hardly drunk any
of it yet."

"Very nice, thank you, dear," said her father.

Norah got down from her seat and carried the big milk jug round to his
side.

"Won't you have some more milk, father?" she said. "Perhaps your tea
is too hot, and you can't drink it quickly."

"But I don't want to drink it quickly," said her father.

He looked in a puzzled way at his wife, and Mrs. Carew laughed.

"I told the children to let you drink one cup of tea in peace before
they bothered you with questions," said she.

"I think I know what the questions will be about," said the vicar.

He drank the rest of his tea and handed the cup to Philip.

"Father! _Have_ you heard Haver Grange is let?" said the boy.

"And whom it's let to?" asked Ruth.

"And whether there are any children?" asked Norah.

"One question at a time!" said their father, laughing. "Yes, I heard
from Mr. Denny that the Grange had been let to a foreign gentleman, who
is coming to live there very soon, I believe, as the caretakers have
orders to have the house in readiness before the end of this week; but
where he comes from and whether he has any children I do not know."

Dan had been opening and shutting his mouth for the last two minutes.

"Father!" he burst out at last, "_Do_ you think he will have the gap in
the fence boarded up?"

"The gap in the fence? My dear Dan, what do you mean?" asked his
father.

"He means the gap where we used to get through and have picnics in the
Grange grounds," said Ruth, "but we haven't been there for a long time
now. Have you and Dan been lately, Norah?"

"Yes," said Norah, "Dan and I often go and sit there. Shan't we ever
be able to go any more?" And the little girl looked quite sad.

"No," said Mr. Carew; "certainly you must not go again. Little
trespassers! I had no idea you were in the habit of going there for
picnics or anything else."

"What's trespassers?" asked Dan.

"People who break through other people's fences and get taken up and
put in prison," said Philip, as Mr. and Mrs. Carew left the tea-table
and went towards the house. "Just fancy! You and Norah might have
been quietly having a picnic in the glen one day when some fat old
policeman would come along and take you both off to prison."

"Levick wouldn't," said N