Grace was silent for a little, her head resting on Gertrude's shoulder.
When she spoke, her voice had not its usual even flow, but hesitated,
almost faltered, now and then.

"I am going to try!" she said. "It will take a long time, my Owls, and
you will have to be very patient with me. I shall probably never be
wholly domesticated, but--but you will help me, and the Innocent here
will help me; won't you, Innocent?"

[Illustration: "'WE FOUR AGAINST THE WORLD!'"]

"Oh, Grace, if I only could? but what can I do? I don't see how I can
ever do anything!"

"You began it all!" said Grace. "The way you looked--that night I made
you go out, little Peggy. You didn't know, but the face of an Innocent
can be a terrible thing, and I saw, and knew--things I hadn't known
before. No need of going back to that now. But--Snowy--Samuels says I
make an amusing pet in captivity. You'll try me?"

"Won't we!" cried the Snowy Owl. "Grace, dear, we'll all try together.
Oh, we all have to keep trying, don't we, all our lives long? It
wouldn't be worth anything if we didn't have to try, to work and fight
for it. It shall be we three against the world,--the Snowy, the Fluffy,
and the Horny. No, we four, for what should we do without our Peggy? Get
up, Peggy, you ridiculous child; stop crying, and come and sit here
close by us."

"Oh!" cried Peggy. "Isn't there some kind of Owl that I could be? I am
too stupid, of course, but I might be a screech-owl, don't you think
so, Snowy?"

Grace held up her hand. "Forbid the thought!" she said, gravely. "Who
would get us our mice? We must have a Human Being connected with us. I
think of moving into Bedlam, as Colney has a fine assortment of mice on
hand generally. I refuse bats, probably on account of the strong musky
odour, but a mouse dragged across the floor of my cage fills me with
excitement. Samuels, part of it at least. No, we must have a Human Being
in the Owlery, and that Human Being must be the Innocent. We Four
against the World, then! Hands on it, my Owls!"

The four girls stood up, and, joining hands, looked in each other's
faces. "We Four against the World!" they repeated. "The Snowy, the
Fluffy, the Horny, and the Innocent; Hurrah for us!" and the shout they
raised brought the whole corridor running to see what was going on.

THE END.

* * * * *

Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page 5, caption was missing from or