ve
compared with poor children. Lots of them don't even have one single
day in the country, Archie," which made me feel rather ashamed of
wishing for anything more. It was good of Persis to put it that way.

CHAPTER II

WE were to go to Wildmoor the very next week, but still it seemed a long
time off. If it hadn't been for the packing, I don't know how we'd have
got over the time, for Miss Ellis's holiday began almost immediately,
and we hadn't anything to do. Only Eliza was to go with us, as there
were to be servants left in the house we were going to, but of course we
were very glad she was coming, as we liked her to go out walks with us;
she let us do whatever we took into our heads.

It was a nice day, though rather too hot to be pleasant for travelling,
when we at last started for Wildmoor. It wasn't a very long journey,
however, only about three hours in the railway, and the nicest part came
at the end. That was a drive of nearly six miles. Persis and I don't
count driving as travelling at all, and this drive was perfectly lovely.
Papa had ordered a sort of covered waggonette to meet us at the
station, and as it was a very fine evening he let us two go outside
beside the coachman, and he went inside with mamma and Eliza, though I'm
sure he'd much rather have been on the box. For some way the road was
very pretty, but just something like other country roads. But after
going about two miles or so we got on to the moor, and then it just was
lovely. We had never seen moorland before, and the air was so fresh and
breezy, Persis said it made her think of the sea. Indeed, I think a
great big moor, a _very_ big one, is rather like a rough sea; the ground
is all ups and downs like big waves, and when you look far on you could
almost fancy the green ridges were beginning to heave and roll about.

"Won't we have lovely walks here, Archie?" said Persis, and "I should
just think we would," I answered.

And after a bit it grew even prettier; the sun began to set, and all the
colours came out in the sky, and even the ground below seemed all
burning and glowing too. I never have seen any sunsets so beautiful as
those on the moor, and of course we remember this one the best as it was
the first we saw.

Just as it was fading off into gray we turned sharply to the left,
leaving the moor, and after five minutes' driving down a lane, we drew
up at the door of the little house that was to be our home for the next
few weeks. It