intment made him forget himself.

'Stop, Master Alan,' returned Peet, whose naturally cross temper was
continually bringing him into collision with the children. 'The Colonel
and my lady have forbidden all you young ladies and gentlemen to go into
the ruin, and you tell me you will get in if you have the chance?'

'Yes, Peet, I do,' replied Alan, haughtily. 'I am not accountable to you
for what I do or don't do. You mind your own affairs, and find out who
left the door open, or else you will be held responsible.'

Alan marched off, leaving Peet speechless with rage.

'I will speak to the Colonel,' he muttered to himself as the children
disappeared in the direction of the house.

No one knew anything about the door, and, in spite of his anger, Peet
was obliged to admit he himself must have left it open, since none of
the under-gardeners could have got possession of the key. As far as he
knew, they had no interest in going in. The ruin was only used by him
for a secret purpose of his own of which he had spoken to no one. On one
occasion alone had he ever allowed any of his underlings into it. That
was on the day he had made Thomas assist him in erecting some woodwork
in preparation for a gift he had received from his brother in India,
which he desired to keep a profound secret from everybody. Inside the
ruin was a recess large enough for his purpose; but it required a good
deal of adapting to make it available, and this he could not manage
without help. Thomas's action in throwing the piece of wood might or
might not be regarded as suspicious, but since he had been out boating
with the children, he could not have had anything to do with opening the
door. He might desire to get in if his curiosity about the woodwork in
the recess had been roused, but was that likely in such a stupid lout as
Thomas?

There really appeared to be no one on whom he could visit his wrath.
Dismissing the under-gardeners curtly, he was forced to return to his
work in a very unenviable frame of mind, suspicious of everybody.

Meantime the children were greatly taken aback by the quarrel between
Alan and Peet. The two were always more or less at daggers drawn, but it
was seldom that the mutual dislike blazed up into open war.

'I will show Peet a thing or two,' cried Alan with a wilful smile. 'He
must learn he can't speak to me like that. He is Aunt Betty's servant,
worse luck. If he had been Father's, I'd have been down on him with a
venge