icky.

I saw H. O. open his mouth, and I knew he was going to say, 'Or five
thousand,' so I said--

'Well, she won't give us fivepence, but if you'd only do as I am always
saying, and rescue a wealthy old gentleman from deadly peril he would
give us a pot of money, and we could have the partnership and five
pounds a week. Five pounds a week would buy a great many things.'

Then Dicky said, 'Why shouldn't we borrow it?' So we said, 'Who from?'
and then he read this out of the paper--

MONEY PRIVATELY WITHOUT FEES
THE BOND STREET BANK
Manager, Z. Rosenbaum.

Advances cash from L20 to L10,000 on ladies' or gentlemen's
note of hand alone, without security. No fees. No inquiries.
Absolute privacy guaranteed.

'What does it all mean?' asked H. O.

'It means that there is a kind gentleman who has a lot of money, and he
doesn't know enough poor people to help, so he puts it in the paper
that he will help them, by lending them his money--that's it, isn't it,
Dicky?'

Dora explained this and Dicky said, 'Yes.' And H. O. said he was a
Generous Benefactor, like in Miss Edgeworth. Then Noel wanted to know
what a note of hand was, and Dicky knew that, because he had read it in
a book, and it was just a letter saying you will pay the money when you
can, and signed with your name.

'No inquiries!' said Alice. 'Oh--Dicky--do you think he would?'

'Yes, I think so,' said Dicky. 'I wonder Father doesn't go to this kind
gentleman. I've seen his name before on a circular in Father's study.'

'Perhaps he has.' said Dora.

But the rest of us were sure he hadn't, because, of course, if he had,
there would have been more money to buy nice things. Just then Pincher
jumped up and knocked over the painting-water. He is a very careless
dog. I wonder why painting-water is always such an ugly colour? Dora ran
for a duster to wipe it up, and H. O. dropped drops of the water on his
hands and said he had got the plague. So we played at the plague for a
bit, and I was an Arab physician with a bath-towel turban, and cured
the plague with magic acid-drops. After that it was time for dinner, and
after dinner we talked it all over and settled that we would go and see
the Generous Benefactor the very next day. But we thought perhaps the G.
B.--it is short for Generous Benefactor--would not like it if there were
so many of us. I have often noticed that it is the worst of our being
six--people think six a great ma