ng-room window
very disconsolately. It was raining fast, and Mr. Allonby had that day
gone away to see a friend in the country. He was not coming back for
two or three days. Margot was in one of her cross moods. She had
taken the opportunity to have a thorough clean and turn out of the two
bedrooms, and had forbidden the children to leave the sitting-room for
the whole afternoon.

'It's like a prison,' said True rebelliously. 'I hate being shut up in
one room. Mother never did. I could run in and out all day long. I
hate this old London. I should like to be in the country. I'll run
away one day if Margot keeps shutting me up.'

'Where will you go?' asked Bobby, with interest.

'I'll go to the railway station and get into a railway train and stay
in it till it gets quite to the end of the journey, and then I'd get
out.'

'And where would that be?'

True considered.

'The very end of England, I s'pose--near the sea.'

'I've never seen the sea,' said Bobby.

'Fancy! Why we came right through it all the way from 'Merica. I'll
ask dad to take us to the seashore one day. He loves a day out, and so
do I. I wish he had his motor.'

'Yes,' sighed Bobby, 'we never does nothing nice now, and if it hadn't
been for this horrid old rain we'd have gone to tea with Miss Robsart.'

'Well, p'raps she'll ask us to-morrow. Look at that funny old woman,
Bobby, she's trying to hold up her umbrella and drag her dog with a
string and hold up her dress with the same hand. There! Now look, the
dog has got between her legs! Oh, there she goes! Oh, look! she's
tumbled right over, and there's a gentleman picking her up!'

Bobby pressed his face against the glass to see the catastrophe. Then
he started.

'It--it strikes me that's Master Mortimer.'

'Oh, where? Isn't he your uncle?'

'Yes, it's him! It's him! Oh, True, let's run out and bring him in!'

'Is it the gentleman who picked the old lady up? He's looking across
at this house now. He's coming, Bobby, he's coming to see us!'

Bobby rushed to the hall door. He was so excited that he hardly knew
if he was on his head or heels, and he literally tumbled down off the
doorsteps into his uncle's arms.

'Well, well! This is a welcome! Hold on little man, you'll have me
over if you don't take care. Let's come inside and do the
affectionate, or we shall be collecting a crowd. Why, who is this?'

'She's True, she's a kind of sister,' explained Bobby, p