"Imp," I cried, "are you sure--quite sure that she was angry with Mr.
Selwyn yesterday morning?"

"'Course I am. I always know when Auntie Lisbeth's angry. An' now
let's go an' play at 'Blasted Oaks.'"

"Anything you like, Imp, so long as we find her."

"You're forgetting your fishing rod an'--"

"Fishing rod be--blowed!" I exclaimed, and set oft hurriedly in the
direction Lisbeth had taken.

The Imp trotted beside me, stumbling frequently over his "trusty sword"
and issuing numberless commands in a hoarse, fierce voice to an
imaginary "band of outlaws." As for me, I strode on unheeding, for my
mind was filled with a fast-growing suspicion that I had judged Lisbeth
like a hasty fool.

In this manner we scoured the neighbourhood very thoroughly, but with
no success. However, we continued our search with unabated
ardour--along the river path to the water stairs and from thence by way
of the gardens to the orchard; but not a sign of Lisbeth. The
shrubbery and paddock yielded a like result, and having interrogated
Peter in the harness-room, he informed us that "Miss Helezabeth was
hout along with Miss Dorothy." At last, after more than an hour of
this sort of thing, even the Imp grew discouraged and suggested
"turning pirates."

Our wanderings had led by devious paths, and now, as luck would have
it, we found ourselves beneath "the blasted oak."

We sat down very solemnly side by side, and for a long time there was
silence.

"It's fine to make 'tyrants tremble,' isn't it Uncle Dick?" said the
Imp at last.

"Assuredly." I nodded.

"But I should have liked to kiss Auntie Lisbeth good-bye first, an'
Dorothy, an' Louise--"

"What do you mean, my Imp?"

"Oh, you know, Uncle Dick! 'My roof henceforth shall be the broad
expanse.' I'm going to fight giants an'--an' all sorts of cads, you
know. An' then, if ever I get to Persia an' do find the wonderful
lamp, I can wish everything all right again, an' we should all be
'happy ever after'--you an' Auntie Lisbeth an' Dorothy an' me; an' we
could live in a palace with slaves. Oh, it would be fine!"

"Yes, it's an excellent idea, Imp, but on the whole slightly risky,
because it's just possible that you might never find the lamp; besides,
you'll have to stop here, after all, because, you see, I'm going away
myself."

"Then let's go away together, Uncle Dick, do!"

"Impossible, my Imp; who will look after your Auntie Lisbeth and
Dorothy and Louise?"

"