anding but I daren't, for as sure as anything
Tom and Racey would have been after me, and I was frightened as it was
of Tom's catching cold by even coming to the landing.

But she saw our eager faces between the rails before she was half way
up. "Have you been waiting long for me, dears?" she said. "I came as
quickly as I could."

"Oh! no, Miss Goldy-hair," we cried, "we have been _so_ happy."

Then we led her triumphantly into the nursery.

"Look," said the little boys, "did you _ever_ see such a lovely tea?"

"Muffins is coming," said Tom.

"I gave my fourpenny-bit and two halfpennies, but Audrey gived me one
halfpenny back. Uncle Geoff buyed the things, but Audrey and Tom gaved
him lotses of money," said Racey.

"Hush, Racey, it's _very_ rude to tell people what things cost like
that," I said reprovingly. But Miss Goldy-hair didn't seem to mind; she
looked as pleased as she possibly could; we felt quite sure that she
meant what she said when she kissed us her nice way--not a silly way as
if we were just babies, you know--and thanked us for taking so much
trouble to please her.

What a happy tea we had! Tom's sore throat seemed to be getting much
better, for Miss Goldy-hair and I had really to stop his eating as much
as he wanted. We wouldn't have minded if he had been quite well, for he
wasn't a greedy boy, but when people are even a little ill it's better
for them not to eat much, though I must confess the muffins and the
chocolatey biscuits were dreadfully tempting. And after tea, before
beginning to tell us the story, Miss Goldy-hair and I had a nice little
talk. She had such a nice way of talking--she made you sorry without
making you feel cross, if you know how I mean. She made me _quite_ see
how wrong it would have been of me to try to run away to Pierson with
the boys; that it would really have been disobeying papa and mother, and
that happiness never comes to people who go out of the right path to
look for it in.

"But it does _sometimes_, Miss Goldy-hair," I said. "We found _you_ out
of the right path, because it was naughty to have gone out to post the
letter without any one knowing."

And Miss Goldy-hair smiled at that, and said no, when we found her we
were on the right path of trying to run home again as fast as we could.
And then she read to me a little letter she had written to Pierson,
telling her all about us, and that Uncle Geoff was getting us a very
nice kind nurse and that we were goi