at I do."

"But I don't," said Pauline. "If she did such a thing it would almost
kill me. It's all very well for you to talk in that fashion; you haven't
got to live with her; but I have, and I couldn't stand her anger and her
contempt. I'd be put into Punishment Land for a year. And as one day has
very nearly killed me, what would a year of it do? If there is any fear
of what you wish for, I'd best go back at once."

"What! and lose the trout, and the game pie, and the steak and onions,
and the fried potatoes, and the apple turnovers, and the plum puffs, to
say nothing of the most delicious lollypops you have ever tasted in your
life? And afterwards fireworks; for Jack and Tom have bought a lot of
Catherine-wheels and rockets to let off in your honor. And then a cosy,
warm hug in my bed, with Amy and Becky telling ghost stories in the bed
opposite. You don't mean to tell me you'd rather have your lonely room
and starvation than a program of that sort?"

"No, no. Of course I'll go on with you. I've done it now, so I'll stick
to it. Oh, I'm madly hungry! I hope you'll have supper the moment we get
in."

"Supper will be delayed as short a time as possible. It rather depends
upon the boys and when they bring the trout home. But here is a queen
cake. I stuffed it into my pocket for you. Eat it as we go along."

So Pauline ate it and felt better. Her courage returned. She no longer
thought of going back. Had she done so, she knew well that she would not
sleep. People never slept well if they were hungry.

"No," she said to herself; "I will go on with it now. I'll just trust to
my good luck, and I'll enjoy the time with Nancy. For, after all, she's
twice as kind as Aunt Sophia. Why should I make myself miserable on
account of a woman who is not my mother?"

The Hollies was a very snug, old-fashioned sort of farm. It had been in
the King family for generations, and Mr. Josiah King was a very fine
specimen of the British farmer. He was a big man with a red face, bushy
whiskers, grizzled hair, and a loud laugh. The expression of his broad,
square face was somewhat fierce, and the servants at the farm were afraid
to anger him. He was a just enough master, however, and was always served
well by his people. To only one person was he completely mild and gentle,
and that person, it is needless to say, was his daughter Nancy. Nancy was
his only child. Her mother was dead, and from her earliest days she had
been able to twist he