d chap; but when you found there really
_was_ someone there, you dropped the pistol and bunked, didn't you, eh?'

And I said, 'No; I thought, "Hullo! here's a robber! Well, it's all up,
I suppose, but I may as well hold on and see what happens."'

And I was glad I'd owned up, for Father slapped me on the back, and
said I was a young brick, and our robber said I was no funk anyway, and
though I got very hot under the blanket I liked it, and I explained that
the others would have done the same if they had thought of it.

Then Father got up some more beer, and laughed about Dora's
responsibility, and he got out a box of figs he had bought for us, only
he hadn't given it to us because of the Water Rates, and Eliza came in
and brought up the bread and cheese, and what there was left of the
neck of mutton--cold wreck of mutton, Father called it--and we had a
feast--like a picnic--all sitting anywhere, and eating with our fingers.
It was prime. We sat up till past twelve o'clock, and I never felt so
pleased to think I was not born a girl. It was hard on the others; they
would have done just the same if they'd thought of it. But it does make
you feel jolly when your pater says you're a young brick!

When Mr Foulkes was going, he said to Alice, 'Good-bye, Hardy.'

And Alice understood, of course, and kissed him as hard as she could.

And she said, 'I wanted to, when you said no one kissed you when you
left off being a pirate.' And he said, 'I know you did, my dear.' And
Dora kissed him too, and said, 'I suppose none of these tales were
true?'

And our robber just said, 'I tried to play the part properly, my dear.'

And he jolly well did play it, and no mistake. We have often seen him
since, and his boy Denny, and his girl Daisy, but that comes in another
story.

And if any of you kids who read this ever had two such adventures in one
night you can just write and tell me. That's all.

CHAPTER 14. THE DIVINING-ROD

You have no idea how uncomfortable the house was on the day when we
sought for gold with the divining-rod. It was like a spring-cleaning in
the winter-time. All the carpets were up, because Father had told Eliza
to make the place decent as there was a gentleman coming to dinner the
next day. So she got in a charwoman, and they slopped water about, and
left brooms and brushes on the stairs for people to tumble over. H. O.
got a big bump on his head in that way, and when he said it was too bad,
Eliza said