per wrapped round a
parcel--just a little chance like that--had given the secret to her. And
she had to go down to tea and pretend that there was nothing the matter.
The pretence was bravely made, but it wasn't very successful.

For when she came in, everyone looked up from tea and saw her
pink-lidded eyes and her pale face with red tear-blotches on it.

"My darling," cried Mother, jumping up from the tea-tray, "whatever IS
the matter?"

"My head aches, rather," said Bobbie. And indeed it did.

"Has anything gone wrong?" Mother asked.

"I'm all right, really," said Bobbie, and she telegraphed to her Mother
from her swollen eyes this brief, imploring message--"NOT before the
others!"

Tea was not a cheerful meal. Peter was so distressed by the obvious fact
that something horrid had happened to Bobbie that he limited his speech
to repeating, "More bread and butter, please," at startlingly short
intervals. Phyllis stroked her sister's hand under the table to express
sympathy, and knocked her cup over as she did it. Fetching a cloth and
wiping up the spilt milk helped Bobbie a little. But she thought that
tea would never end. Yet at last it did end, as all things do at last,
and when Mother took out the tray, Bobbie followed her.

"She's gone to own up," said Phyllis to Peter; "I wonder what she's
done."

"Broken something, I suppose," said Peter, "but she needn't be so silly
over it. Mother never rows for accidents. Listen! Yes, they're going
upstairs. She's taking Mother up to show her--the water-jug with storks
on it, I expect it is."

Bobbie, in the kitchen, had caught hold of Mother's hand as she set down
the tea-things.

"What is it?" Mother asked.

But Bobbie only said, "Come upstairs, come up where nobody can hear us."

When she had got Mother alone in her room she locked the door and then
stood quite still, and quite without words.

All through tea she had been thinking of what to say; she had decided
that "I know all," or "All is known to me," or "The terrible secret is
a secret no longer," would be the proper thing. But now that she and
her Mother and that awful sheet of newspaper were alone in the room
together, she found that she could say nothing.

Suddenly she went to Mother and put her arms round her and began to cry
again. And still she could find no words, only, "Oh, Mammy, oh, Mammy,
oh, Mammy," over and over again.

Mother held her very close and waited.

Suddenly Bobbie broke away f