what you can put off till to-morrow,' my
brother used to tell me, for you never know what may happen, and you may
get out of it altogether if you wait. But if we are obliged to do it,
we pretend we like it, for it's so dull to be unhappy. And if it was
horrid abroad, it makes it all the nicer to come back, doesn't it?"

"Sometimes," he said shortly.

They had reached the gipsy encampment by this time, and were
peremptorily commanded to sit down on a bench pending certain important
preparations under the wheel-barrow; so he took possession of one
corner, and Pixie took the other and stared at him with unabashed
scrutiny. He was unhappy, she decided, and that was enough to enlist
her whole-hearted sympathy; but besides being unhappy, he was very good
to look upon, with his bronzed skin, well-cut features, and soldierly
bearing. She admired him immensely; and the admiration was mutual,
though of a different nature.

She was a quaint-looking little soul, the young fellow decided--plain-
looking, he had thought on first sight, but there was something oddly
attractive about the wide eyes and large curving lips; you wanted to
look at them once and yet again, and each time you looked the attraction
increased. What was it? Not beauty, not intellect, not wit--nothing,
it appeared, but a crystalline sincerity and sweetness of heart, which
exercised an irresistible claim on the affections. His face softened,
and he bent towards her with a kindly questioning.

"How do you come to be governessing these children? You are so young
still--sixteen--seventeen, is it? You ought to be in the schoolroom
yourself!"

"There was nothing else I could do, and I wanted to earn some money,
because we're poor. I'm small, but I've known a lot of trouble,"
replied Pixie, with a complacent air which was distinctly trying to her
companion's composure. He stroked his moustache to hide the twitching
lips, and said solemnly--

"I'm sorry--very sorry to hear that! I hope, however, it is all in the
past. You look remarkably cheerful now."

"That's because I'm helping; and we are such a nice family at home. If
you are with the people you like best, that makes you happy, doesn't it,
without thinking of anything else?"

"Yes," he said shortly, and rose from his seat to walk across to where
the children were scrambling on the grass. They leapt on him, and hung
on his arms; and he played with them for five or ten minutes, then
produced a