Transcriber's note: Unusual and inconsistent spelling is as printed.

"ARE YOU ALL SAFE?"

"US, AND OUR CHARGE"

BY

AMY LE FEUVRE

Author of

"Us, and Our Donkey," "Us, and Our Empire," etc. etc.

London

THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY

4 Bouverie Street and 65 St. Paul's Churchyard

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN
BY HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.
LONDON AND AYLESBURY.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. A BOMB-SHELL

II. OUR NEW HOME

III. WE EXPLORE

IV. A RESCUE

V. MISSING

VI. A LONG SUNDAY

VII. PAT LEAVES US

VIII. OUR GOVERNESS

IX. MY GODMOTHER

X. THE BEGINNING OF WAR

XI. THE FIRST RECRUIT

XII. AUNT GRISEL'S HOSPITAL

XIII. OUR SEARCH

XIV. THE FIND

XV. AN OLD FRIEND

XVI. SAD NEWS

"US, AND OUR CHARGE"

CHAPTER I

A BOMB-SHELL

I CAN hardly believe it is only a year I since I wrote my diary. I think it is things happening that make people old, and not just weeks and months and years rolling by.

Last winter Aunt Mildred married a doctor, and went to India with him. In March Aunt Caroline died. She went to a doctor's house in London to be cured of something, and she wasn't cured, and she never came back to us. I learnt to keep house, and put down in a book when I spent money; and I felt a hundred years old when father would come to me and say, "My dear Grisel, I do miss your dear aunt so much; I wonder if you could help me."

Then—I must try and write it quickly without crying, for it blots the ink so—father took a funeral on a bitter cold day, and it was blowing a blizzard, and they kept him waiting, and when he came home he was all in a shiver. Martha, our cook, who knows about everything, made him go to bed, and sent for a doctor. And two days afterwards Dr. Lane told me father had double pneumonia, and he was afraid he wouldn't get better.

It seemed as if the end of the world had come then.

Martha had a woman in from the village to help her nurse him. And Lynette and I cried all day long, while Puff couldn't and wouldn't understand how ill father was, and made as much noise as he always does. We sent for the boys to come home. And when Denys was here, I seemed to get more time to creep in and out of father's room, for he kept Puff quiet.

Father couldn't speak, and he seemed to be always sleeping, but one evening I was sitting with him. It was Sunday, and the others had gone to church. Another clergyman had come to take the service.

Suddenly father looked up quite brightly.

"Grisel," he said in a husky voice, "good little Grisel!"

"Oh, father!" I said, holding up one of his hands to my cheek. "You are going to get better."

He shook his head, and then after a few minutes he said in a husky voice:

"Grisel—remember—tell the boys—I charge you—Hold fast! Hold fast!—"

He stopped, and seemed to fall asleep before he had finished what he was saying.

Those were his last words. He died that night.

I want to write this quickly. It seemed all like a dreadful dream, but a dream which we could not wake up from.

The next thing that happened was father's lawyer arriving. Such a nice man! His name is Mr. Adamson. He told us that he and father used to be school-boys together, and father had been writing a lot of letters to him lately about us. He saw to everything, and after the funeral, still stayed on with us, arranging everything.

We shall have to leave this dear old Rectory, of course—and all the furniture is to be sold. But the most surprising thing of all is a letter that has arrived to-day. Aylwin says it is a bomb-shell, but Mr. Adamson is not a bit surprised; in fact, it is all through him that it has come.

You see, while Mr. Adamson has been looking through father's papers, we have talked together a lot, and Denys and I feel we're the eldest in a way that we've never felt before. Of course, Denys is always good at making plans, and Aylwin likes to argue against him just for the sake of argument. At first I felt nobody mattered, and nothing mattered, except that father had left us. But boys never think like that, and so Denys called a council to-day, directly after breakfast, and we met in our schoolroom.

Our dear old schoolroom! I love it so! Father and I had been talking about a governess coming to take Aunt Caroline's place, but time slipped on, and we have never yet heard of any one who seems exactly right. Now all that is over! Well, Denys began:

"It's all very well for Adamson to be telling us what we ought and what we oughtn't to do, but he isn't a relative—only a lawyer, though he's a decent chap. And lawyers expect to be paid for their advice. So I vote we do without him, and settle how we're going to live without his interference!"

Aylwin shook his head with his wiseacre look.

"That's all gas! We're minors, that's what we are, and it's a rotten fact which can't be got over."

Puff was seated on the top of his toy-cupboard, looking full of importance. Now he said, his eyes nearly starting out of his head with eagerness:

"What's a minor? I thoughted they were underground coal men!"

The boys laughed, but Lynette cried:

"Denys isn't a minor; he is Marjoribanks Major at school, and Aylwin is the minor!"

"Oh, stow it!" said Aylwin impatiently. "You're such a set of babies. A man is a minor till he is twenty-one, and lawyers can have their way with us till then."

"Perhaps," I said slowly, for I was thinking it out, "I can persuade him to let us take a cheap little cottage somewhere. It wouldn't cost much, and we could do without servants!"

Lynette made a grimace.

"I hate making beds and dusting!" she said.

"Will you listen to me?" said Denys in his grandest tone. "I mean to make Adamson tell me exactly how much money there is, and then we'll settle our plans accordingly. There's many a fellow my age who works to keep his family, and if it has got to be done, I'll do it, even if I may have to sweep out a shop!"

Aylwin and Lynette burst out laughing. Denys isn't the kind to use a broom, and we know it!

"You are going to be a soldier, Denys," I said earnestly. "However poor we are, you and Aylwin have got to serve your country—"

Denys looked very grave.

"That depends," he began; "and—"

Then the door opened, and Mr. Adamson walked in upon us. He is lodging in the village, and comes round every day after breakfast, and generally shuts himself up in father's study.

But he looked as if he had good news for us, and I wondered how he had the heart to smile as he did, when we were all in such trouble.

"Good morning, youngsters. Now I want a little talk with you. Have you ever heard of your grandfather Noble, or any of his family?"

"Noble was mother's name before she married," I said, "for Grace Noble was written in her old Bible. But mother never talked about her family to us. I didn't know she had one! I mean—I thought they were all dead long ago."

"Yes," said Denys, "she used to talk of a brother who died at sea, and a sister called Isobel; she told me of a scrape they got into once, when they were kids."

"A family estrangement is a sad thing," said Mr. Adamson, "but I took upon myself to write to your grandfather. And he has responded in a most generous way. In fact, he tells me he had seen the notice of your father's death in the paper, and was intending to write to ask if his people were looking after you. Hearing of your sad circumstances, he writes to offer you all, without any reservation, a home with him."

This was the bomb-shell. We simply stared at each other in amazement. We didn't know what to say for a moment.

Then I said:

"But I—we thought our grandfather was dead. Is he alive?"

"Very much so, and your Aunt Isobel lives with him, and says she will do her best to give you a welcome."

Denys drew himself up, and put on what Aylwin calls his Grand-duke's face.

"May I ask who and what our grandfather is, and why he hasn't taken the trouble to know us all these years?"

"Just stiff pride, my boy, and a hot temper. He did not wish your mother to marry your father, and she resisted his will and did it."

"Good for her!" muttered Aylwin.

"Our mother's grandmother was a Lady Louisa Noble," said Denys still very grandly. "Is this man his son?"

"Gently, my boy. Age merits respect. Your grandfather is a fine hearty old gentleman of comfortable means, and his place in Scotland is called Bantock Hall. He has been in the Army, and is a retired Colonel."

"Hem!" said Denys, refusing to be impressed. "He ought to have been a General before he left—something shady I should think if he wasn't. Either want of brains, or want of pluck!"

I gasped out:

"Oh, Denys, do hush! You're talking of darling mother's father!"

There was quite a scowl on Denys's face.

Mr. Adamson tapped the table with his pencil.

"Whatever your grandfather has done in the past, he has made generous amends now. It is not every one who would open their doors to five grandchildren of whom they know nothing. I trust you will all show your gratitude to him for his offer."

"Look here," said Denys, speaking very sternly, just as he does to Puff when he has been doing something dreadful: "is it absolutely impossible for us to live by ourselves, without living on our grandfather's charity? It isn't very pleasant for us, whatever he may feel about it. What money have we got? That's the question."

"Your father insured his life for £2,000. That will bring in about £80 or £90. But none of that can be touched except to help with your education—and five of you cannot live on that."

"If we had had no grandfather, what should we have done?" demanded Aylwin.

Mr. Adamson shrugged his shoulders.

"A black look-out for you! But we won't think of imaginary circumstances. This is Tuesday. Your grandfather has expressed his wish that you should go to him next Monday. That will leave you nearly a week to pack your clothes, say good-bye to your friends—and—and get accustomed to the idea of the move."

"What's his address?" asked Denys.

"Bantock Hall, near Killochan. I'll travel with you myself as far as Carlisle."

We could only stare at each other. The shock of it made me feel quite stupid. Why had we never heard of this grandfather before? Why had dear father never told us of him? That's what puzzled me.

And when Mr. Adamson went back to the study, I said so.

"It remains to be seen," said Aylwin, shaking his head mysteriously, "whether he's the genuine article or not. He won't long deceive us, if he's a rogue and a pretender."

"But why should he want the bother of us?" I said.

"Our money," suggested Lynette; "some old misers will do anything for gold."

Denys tramped up and down the room, and then stood frowning with his arms folded, like the picture of Napoleon in the dining-room.

"I don't like it," he said. "I wonder if he knows how old we are? He may think we are all nursery kids."

"We shall have to go," I said, tears coming into my eyes; for I felt awful at leaving our darling Rectory, we did all love it so!

"And this day week," said Lynette excitedly, "we shall be in his house and know all about him—I think it will be rather fun. And we're all going together; it won't be half bad!"

That's just like Lynette! She would say, if we were all going to be executed, that after all it would be rather fun!

I couldn't try to smile, but Puff broke in with his eager stammer:

"I—I think it will be jolly to go in the train, and shall we go across the sea to Scotland?"

"Get your geography book!" growled Denys.

Then Lynette and I went away to tell the servants, for cook had been awfully good to us. She has thought of everything and done everything, and made us a lovely cake only yesterday, "to cheer us up," she said.

It seems odd how we do get accustomed to things. We had another talk together after tea. And then Denys, who had been shut up in his bedroom for ever so long, told us what he had been doing.

"I'm not a baby," he said, "and, whether we're minors or not, we can't be packed off from one side of Great Britain to the other without feeling it. So I've just written a letter to the old gentleman. After all, I'm head of the family, and I considered it my duty. Would you like to hear it?"

Aylwin grinned and Lynette clapped her hands.

Denys stood by the fire, cleared his throat, and began:

   "DEAR SIR,

   "We are told by our lawyer that you say you are our grandfather and would like us to pay you a visit—"

"I want you all to keep this in mind," said Denys, looking at us sternly: "We're going on a visit, and if there are ructions—well, we can just come away again!"

"Where to?" I said under my breath.

Denys went on reading:

   "We have agreed we don't mind doing this, as if you are our mother's father, we should like to know you—"

"I shouldn't!" muttered Aylwin.

   "I suppose you are aware that a few hours ago we did not know that you were alive, so your letter has rather upset our plans and arrangements. Adamson is a good sort of chap, and we've told him we'll fall in. So you can expect us Monday—"

"Denys," I interrupted, "it strikes me as rather a rude letter, and ungrateful. He has offered us a home, remember! Don't pretend we don't understand it."

"Stow your jaw, old Gristle!" Aylwin said hotly. "You are like a suet pudding, so soft and sticky. This unknown relative of ours wants to be made to sit up. He has treated us abominably all these years!"

"He hasn't treated us at all," Lynette remarked.

"Will you shut up, and let me get on?" said Denys.

He went on reading:

   "And there remains now nothing to add but to thank you for your sudden desire to know us. I hope you'll find us worth the knowing.

"D. MARJORIBANKS,

"THE HEAD OF THE FAMILY."

"That isn't bad," said Aylwin as Denys came to a solemn pause, "but I think I could rub it in a bit harder about springing himself upon us like a Jack-in-the-Box. Do let me add a P.S."

"And me!" cried Lynette.

"And me!" I said.

"And me myself!" shouted Puff.

So after a good deal of argument, Denys let us each add our postscript. We told him that we must be in the letter, to show we weren't babies, so these are the postscripts.

   "P.S.—We'll try to be worth knowing, for darling mother was your daughter, and that's why I want to see you, and thank you very much for telling us to come.—GRISEL."

   "P.S.—But it's rough lines on fellows of the Fifth Form to have a strange grandfather spring on them like this.—AYLWIN."

   "P.S.—And we hope you'll be like old General Walton, who gives his grandchildren high-jinks at Xmas.—LYNETTE."

   "P.S.—And I hopes you have a pond with fwogs like us.—PUFF."

When Mr. Adamson came in to wish us good-night, Denys told him, in a grand way, that we had written to our grandfather.

"It's in the Post Office," said Denys, a little defiantly.

I thought he seemed afraid that Mr. Adamson would want to see it, but he only looked at Denys curiously, and said nothing.

After he had gone, we got out the map of Scotland and tried to see where Bantock Hall could be. We hunted for Killochan up and down for ages, and then at last Denys got a "Bradshaw" from father's study. He's always so clever about trains, and then we found it by each taking a part of the map, and we were awfully delighted to find that Killochan is on a little line not far from the sea. So then we settled ourselves round the fire, and we each described the house as we thought it would be.

Denys said, staring into the fire:

"I see a rugged tower house on bleak rocks with the sea dashing up to the small, narrow windows. Seagulls are screaming from their nests, there's no garden, no trees, nothing but grey rocks and grey sea, and a heavy nailed door, and inside there are stone passages, and dark chill rooms—"

We all shuddered.

Then Aylwin said:

"I see a straight long house with a courtyard, and fierce dogs before the door. When you open it, you go into a banqueting-hall, but it's empty, and there are holes in the floor, and broken windows, and rats racing round. In a west wing lives a shabby little man, and a tall, grim woman, his daughter. There's an old witch of a woman who's their servant, and they're chuckling over some underground rooms where some unknown grandchildren are going to be put. 'We'll make 'em work!' says the old man. He's a kind of inventor, and keeps machinery which he wants worked!"

We could not help laughing at Aylwin's picture. He loves making a story out of nothing.

"Now, listen!" said Lynette. "I see a lovely garden with fountains and apple-trees, and little boats ready for the sea, and sand, and bathing-machines, and a house full of sunshine and flowers, and a lot of servants, and ponies in stables, and a smiling old grandfather."

"I see," I said, "a big house, but very cold and stern, and it's in a town with a lot of houses round it. And there's a parade and a band, and no country at all, and no garden, and everything goes by clockwork. Now, Puff, it's your turn! What do you think our new home will be like?"

Puff's eyes nearly started out of his head. "I don't know, really I doesn't. I thinks it may be like this house, only with a very big hall to it—"

Then he snuggled up to me.

"Is this old grandfather a good man?"

"Oh yes, I suppose he is," I said vaguely.

"Then God will live in his house, just as He does in this one, won't He?"

Puff does say queer things.

"God lives everywhere, Puff; you know that."

"Not in wicked people's houses. He never does. Oh dear no! The devil lives with them."

He nodded his head so knowingly that I didn't know what to say—

"Well," said Lynette, "now we'll see who will be right. We've all made quite certain we're going to live in a big house."

"That's because of its name," I said; "a house is never called a hall unless it's pretty big!"

"I think we're jolly lucky," said Lynette. "Now there's no fear of us being beggars. Oh how I wish I could jump right into next Tuesday! It's awfully exciting not to know what kind of place we're going to!"

"It's a crisis in our lives," said Denys gravely.

"And crisises are always stunning," Lynette exclaimed. "But I don't know. I don't feel I shall be able to sleep to-night because of the strangeness of it all."

And Denys said to me, when we were going upstairs to bed:

"We must just grin and bear it. That's the worst of being minors, but we'll hope for the best."

"Yes," I answered, "it makes one rather fearful, but Puff is right—we can't get away from God."

Denys just gave a nod. He never talks goody, but he and I feel the same about things.

And now we're going to bed, and this day week where shall we be?

CHAPTER II

OUR NEW HOME

OUR last Sunday! I've been crying off and on all day, when nobody was near me to see. It's all so sweet and sad here, and the future makes me afraid. Yesterday we all went round in a bunch to every house in the village to say good-bye. It took us all day, and it was awful doing it, for Denys and Aylwin hate girls' tears, and I had to choke mine back all the time.

Everybody was so kind, and so sorry that we were going! And now to-day it has been worse than ever. Church this morning made me miserable. I couldn't sing a single hymn. We all went to father's grave afterwards and Mr. Scammell, who came over to take the services, followed us there and tried to cheer us up. I ran indoors very quickly.

In the afternoon it was so sunny we all went into the garden and wandered round and round, and then we sat together on the seat outside father's study and talked.

I began it. I said to Denys that one thing we must all remember was father's last words.

"What were they?" Aylwin asked.

"'Hold fast!' He said to me:

"'Grisel, remember—tell the boys—I charge you—Hold fast! Hold fast!'"

"What did he mean?" Lynette asked with a grave face.

"I'm sure it's in the Bible," I said; "I know 'hold fast' is mentioned there."

"Yes, but hold fast to what?" said Denys. "I think we'd better get a Bible and look. A concordance would be the thing."

Aylwin dashed into the house for the concordance and Lynette dashed after him for the Bible. They raced each other back, and knocked Puff over on the gravel path. He yelled, and I had to comfort him, and seat him up beside me, before we could go on. Then Denys took hold of the concordance, and Aylwin seized the Bible.

"You call out, and I'll turn up!" he said. "This is a kind of Sunday-school!"

"We won't make fun of it!" I murmured.

Lynette gave me a little pinch.

"Don't be too dismal, Grizzy!" she said.

And then the boys began. The first verse they found was:

   "'Hold fast that which is good.'"

Then they called out some others:

   "'Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard.'"

   "'That which ye have already hold fast till I come.'"

   "'Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.'"

"The question is," said Denys gravely, "which verse did father mean?"

"It was his charge to us," I said; "we must find out."

"All those verses mean the same thing," said Denys in his judge-like manner.

Aylwin dropped the Bible.

"Then we needn't worry," he said.

"But we must. It must be our motto, our charge," I said eagerly. "And I think father must have wanted to say that we must hold fast to what he had taught us. He knew that we should be all alone, and that there would be nobody left to help us to be good!"

"I think the easiest to remember is the first," said Lynette.

"I like 'That which ye have already hold fast till I come,'" I said.

Lynette made a little grimace.

"Yes, Grizzy, you have goodness in you to hold fast to, but what about us who haven't? If I hold fast to what I have already, it will be badness, and I don't think father would mean that."

"Well," said Denys, "we'll take the shortest and easiest: 'Hold fast that which is good.' That is our charge, and we'll have to remember it."

Aylwin jumped up from the seat. "And now we've done school, and I'm off to see old Andy."

Lynette and Puff went off with him to see our donkey. Denys and I sat still.

"It's rather true what Lynette said," he remarked; "we must get the thing first, before we hold fast to it."

"I think father meant to hold fast to the good teaching we have had. We know what is good and right, Denys; it's the holding fast to it that's so difficult. We've been taught all these years how to live, now we've got to do it."

"There's the rub!"

"Yes," I said in a whisper, "but though father has been taken from us, Jesus Christ hasn't. He will help us."

Denys nodded.

We didn't say any more, and the rest of the day has gone now, and I'm going to bed.

It's the last night I shall ever sleep here, and I feel as if I shall never be really happy again. We had "There is a blessed Home" in the evening service. I wish an earthquake would swallow us all up and take us there at once. Then we'd be with father and mother again. I'm quite certain we shall never "hold fast" properly all our lives. And, if we live to be a hundred, how dreadfully difficult it will be to be good all that time!

*****

It is some days since I wrote in this diary, and I shall have to go a good bit back. Our journey here was a very long one. At first we rather liked it, then we all got cross, and, after Mr. Adamson left us at Carlisle, we quarrelled and Puff cried, and we were all dead tired.

We got to Glasgow at seven o'clock in the evening.

Denys said now that we were in Scotland we must try and speak Scotch, and he said to the porter when we got out, "Now my bonny lad, there's a muckle lot of luggage, and ye ken we have anither train to catch!"

But the porter laughed in his face in a very rude way, and it turned out he wasn't Scotch at all.

When we got into the other train, we began to enjoy ourselves, for very soon we put out our heads, and in the dusk could see a great line of sea. We smelt it too, and it got so cold that only the boys could keep their heads out. Then Lynette and I began to tidy ourselves, and Puff. He always gets dirty if he is ten minutes in a train. And then as we got nearer and nearer our station, I had a funny sick feeling inside. I felt I would give worlds for the train not to stop, but go on for ever. I was dreading our arrival.

At last Killochan station was called out. But by this time it was quite dark, and we tumbled out upon the platform all in confusion. Puff was almost asleep, he was so tired, and I had to shake him to make him walk at all. There was a nice old stationmaster who seemed to know all about us.

"Come along! Come along, the whole brood o' ye!" he said. "The Kornel have sent the carriage, and I telled him I wud have the care o' ye!"

He bustled us out into the road, where a very big brougham stood waiting. There was a lovely pair of horses, and Denys and Aylwin both wanted to sit outside on the box with the coachman. In the end Denys got up, and Aylwin came inside with us. He was a little sulky at first.

"Packed in with a lot of girls!" he muttered.

"And a lot of boys," laughed Lynette. "We're quits—two and two!"

"Oh dear!" I sighed. "I wish we were there, and it was over!"

We tried to see what the country was like out of the window, but it was too dark.

"I bet old Denys is pumping the coachman!" said Aylwin. "He'll know everything before we get there!"

"Never mind," I said. "Perhaps it's better not to know. I think somebody might have come to meet us."

Then we were all pretty silent; we seemed to have talked ourselves out. It had been such a long journey! We drove on and on and on, and at last, just when I was getting sleepy, we stopped with a jerk. Aylwin put his head out.

"The mansion!" he said. "We are passing through the gates."

"Just like the Hall at home," said Lynette gleefully. "Why, Grisel, we have risen; we are no longer poor clergyman's children, but the grandchildren of a squire!"

"Little snob!" Aylwin cried, and Lynette didn't say any more.

Then in a very few minutes we had stopped again, and were outside a huge door. When it was opened, it seemed like a palace to us. A very big hall was in front of us, and an old butler, and it was all lighted up, and there were great pots of flowers at the bottom of a staircase, and a lot of oil-paintings on the walls.

Denys got in front of us in a great hurry; then he threw up his head:

"Will you tell our grandfather we have come," he said in his grandest tone.

"They're at dinner, sir," the butler said respectfully. He said it as if they were in church and couldn't be interrupted.

Denys got very hot and red, and then, before we could say anything, a door opened and a very tall lady came out. She was in a pale grey satin dress and had grey hair, and a lot of diamonds glistening about her. I fell in love with her on the spot, for she was beautiful, though she looked stern and cold, and there was just a tiny look of mother in her eyes.

"Ah!" she said. "You have all arrived, then. I thought I heard the carriage, but your train must have been late."

She seemed to look at each of us quickly one after the other, and then she stooped and kissed Puff.

"You must all be hungry and tired, but old Peggy will see to you. Here she is! Peggy, take them upstairs to their nursery, give them some supper and pack them off to bed."

An old woman with a fat smiling face came waddling towards us. The boys looked at each other, and I saw that they were furious.

We came to a lovely large room with a big square table covered with a white cloth. There were a blazing fire and a book-case and a big couch and a cane rocking chair. And Lynette and I squeezed each other's hands and suddenly felt that we could be happy.

And then Peggy turned round and faced us all, and tears were dropping down her cheeks.

"Ye'll be Miss Grace's bairns, and I nursed her when I was but a bairn mysel'!"

I couldn't help it. I just ran into her arms and hugged and kissed her.

"You knew darling mother!"

And the next minute she was kissing us all, even the boys. But I turned away my face when she kissed them, for I knew how they would feel.

And then she told us that she lived in a little cottage in the village, but had promised our aunt to come up and look after us till we had settled in.

"Your Aunt Isobel doesna understand bairns, but she means weel, though she be of few wor-rds."

Then she bustled out of the room and called us to look at our bedroom.

We were all together, and that I felt to be a comfort, and we were in the old nursery wing of the house, which had a separate staircase, and was shut away by a thick door covered with green baize. The boys had one huge bedroom to themselves with three beds in it, and three windows, and three of everything.

Lynette said it reminded her of the Three Bears' room—for Puff had a little bed, and a little chair, and a little chest of drawers. Peggy told us that Aunt Isobel had sent to the lawyer for our exact ages, and that she and Aunt Isobel had arranged it all very carefully.

Lynette and I had a lovely room, and Peggy told us it used to be mother's room when she was a little girl. It was too dark to see out of the windows, but everything seemed rich and comfortable. The carpets were thick, and there were cushioned chairs. When I thought of our bare rooms at home, I felt the difference, and yet a lump came into my throat, and I longed to be back in the dear old Rectory.

We washed our hands and faces, and then went back to the old nursery, which we determined to call the schoolroom. And then we found a nice supper waiting for us. Some Scotch broth in a great soup tureen, and some bread-and-butter, and potted meat and cake and jam. We were all very hungry, and after old Peggy had waited upon us, she left the room, and then at last we were by ourselves.

"It's simply stunning!" said Lynette with a beaming smile. "It's all ever so much better than I thought!"

But the boys looked cross, and I knew why. They did not like being treated like children and packed off to the nursery, and to bed without seeing our grandfather. And then it turned out that they did not like Puff being in their room. He had never slept with them at home.

"I think the sooner I have a talk with our grandfather the better!" said Denys in his lordly way.

Aylwin chuckled.

"You'll be told to do as Peggy tells us, or you'll be put in the corner," he said. "We shall be taught our A B C by her to-morrow!"

Lynette giggled, but I felt a little anxious.

"I dare say," I said, "they're having a dinner-party to-night. Aunt Isobel couldn't be dressed like that every night. And anyhow we're very tired and untidy. We shall make a better impression to-morrow."

Denys gave a little snort, but he didn't say any more. And when we had had our supper, we all confessed that we were tired, and went off to bed.

The next morning Lynette woke me up by screaming:

"Grisel! Grisel! Come and look!"

I dashed out of bed, as she had got the window open and was hanging out of it.

I never saw such loveliness. It was a sunny morning, and the great blue sea was stretching right in front of us. There was a big sloping grass lawn, and then a low stone wall, and then a beach with brown rocks and green seaweed, and a lot of sand, and a great line of white surf. It made a booming sound as it broke on the rocks. We could smell that delicious seaweedy smell that always makes me remember days at the seaside. But now we were going to live by it always! I felt my heart beating with excitement.

"Oh Lynette!" I cried. "Let us dress ourselves quickly and run down to the beach. I'm dying to see it close!"

"Yes," assented Lynette. "Grandfather may be an ogre, and Aunt Isobel a vixen for all I care! We've got the sea, and nobody can take it from us!"

And then Peggy came to the door, for we had slept very late, and another servant brought us our baths, and we dressed as quickly as we could. The boys had a bathroom all to themselves, and we heard an awful row going on and shrieks from Puff!

"They're making him wash himself!" chuckled Lynette.

Puff hates washing. I never can understand why, but I was a little afraid that the boys might be rough with him, and was going to speak to them, only Lynette persuaded me not to interfere.

"You only make him worse, Grizzy! Denys says he wants a man's firm hand!"

"Denys's hand isn't a man's!" I retorted. "And he is rough, not firm!"

But I didn't go, for before I was dressed, I looked out of the window and saw the boys flying across the lawn with Puff at their heels.

Lynette was off at once, but she stopped at the door.

"I suppose I shall have to say my prayers!" she said, and then she dropped down on her knees.

I joined her, and then we read our "Daily Light" together, as we always do.

Lynette is very harum-scarum still, but she was ill and on her back for more than a year, and she has been different ever since.

"I suppose," she said, "it's one of the things we've got to hold fast to, Grizzy, saying our prayers and reading the Bible, isn't it?"

I nodded.

"Yes, that's what father meant, I know."

I followed her downstairs more soberly. I felt rather wicked for being so happy at the sight of the sea, when father had just died. I tried to keep thinking of the dreadful day when he died, but when I was out in the sunshine, my feet felt as if they would dance by themselves whether I wished them to do it or not. And then I forgot all about it, and raced across the lawn, and down to the sea as fast as ever I could.

Oh, it was a lovely time! We forgot all about breakfast. We climbed over the rocks, and the boys took off their shoes and stockings and paddled, and we hung over delicious pools full of crabs and limpets and crimson sea anemones, and we drew figures in the sand, and I don't believe we would ever have gone back to the house at all if we had not been fetched by old Peggy. She came waddling across the lawn, and Aylwin scoffed under his breath.

"We're being fetched in by our nursie!"

But Denys shut him up. Denys is always polite, even sometimes when he feels furious inside.

So we told her we'd forgotten breakfast, and Denys said:

"I think you'd better ring a big bell for breakfast. I'll speak to my grandfather about it. We shall always be out here in the morning."

And then we went indoors, and found it was past nine o'clock. There was no sign of anybody about the house except servants, and we agreed that we did not want to see anybody just yet.

"We'll have time to see over the house and garden and stables," said Denys, "and feel our way about. And if the old gentleman isn't keen on seeing us, I'm sure I'm not keen on seeing him."

"I feel rather frightened of him," I confessed. "I should like to get it over."

"Don't you shiver and shake and kneel down and lick his toes, Grizzy!" said Aylwin. "For you'll spoil the whole show if you do. We must take a high hand with the old chap, and make him see he can't bully us!"

"I don't expect he wants to do that," I said.

Peggy hovered about us while we were at breakfast, and then Lynette asked her straight out:

"Doesn't grandfather want to see us? What is he like? Do tell us."

I think I shall have to stop writing Scotch as Peggy speaks it. I can't do it, so I shall write what she says in English. She rolls her r's a good deal, and there are some words that I have never heard before, but I'll leave those out.

She told us that there were people to dinner last night, and that we arrived later than they expected us, and that grandfather suffered from gout in his foot, and was not so active as he used to be. She said he always had his breakfast in his bedroom, and that he never came downstairs before eleven o'clock, and she told us that Aunt Isobel was a widow and her name was Mrs. Crichton, and that a good many visitors stayed in the house.

"And I'm to tell ye to stay up here till your grandfather can see ye!" she finished up.

"But that's ridiculous," said Denys. "We're not going to shut ourselves up in one room for nearly two hours doing nothing when there's the sea all outside waiting for us!"

"That is the message the mistress sent," said Peggy, snapping her lips together in a severe way. "She doesn't want ye away from the house when your grandfather is wanting ye!"

"But my good old creature," said Denys, "all you've got to do is to tell us the time he wants us, and we'll be there. I have a watch."

"Them's the orders given to me," said Peggy, "and I'd ask ye to be good bairns and not anger the master the first day!"

She stumped out of the room, and we looked at each other in dismay. I suppose dear father always trusted us so, that we have been accustomed to be very free. He gave us so few orders! Denys and Aylwin jumped up from the breakfast-table and stamped round the room. They were very angry. Aylwin was for going out into the garden at once, but Denys was wiser.

"No, we'll just be decent the first day, but I'll have a talk with him, and explain that he is not to treat us like small kids. He doesn't seem to know our ages!"

I got Lynette over to the book-case, for I knew it was no good listening to the boys. We are all fond of books, and we were awfully interested in finding some books with mother's name in. And there were one or two volumes called "Peter Parley's Tales," with all kinds of things that boys love: conjuring, and rabbit keeping, and old stamps.

The boys came over to look at them, and we were so interested that the time flew, and when Peggy came in saying solemnly:

"The master wishes to see ye in the library," we were quite astonished.

"Don't look as if you're going to be hung, drawn, and quartered, old Grizzy," Aylwin said to me going downstairs.

But I couldn't laugh. I felt so dreadfully nervous! And I wasn't only afraid of grandfather, but of what the boys would say.

We went down the big staircase, and then the old butler, who seemed as if he was waiting for us, took us along to a closed door at the end of the hall, and threw it open.

And this is how he announced us—I rather liked it:

"Miss Grace's family, sir!"

CHAPTER III

WE EXPLORE

IT was a big warm, airless room; you could see no walls for the bookshelves and pictures which covered it. Aunt Isobel was sitting by the fire with the newspaper in her hand. She looked very tall and grand, but grandfather was quite little, and very stout. He had a very red face, and a white moustache, and very thin white hair, and his eyebrows were thick and fierce. And this is what he said when he saw us:

"I say! What a crowd of them!"

"Come and introduce yourselves to your grandfather," said Aunt Isobel quietly. "The eldest first. Denys—isn't it?"

Denys marched up and held out his hand, and he stared at grandfather, and grandfather stared at him.

"I expect you'll find us older than you thought," Denys said in his cool grand manner; "there's only one of us that wants a nursery!"

And then Puff surprised me by pushing forward and sticking out his fat chest in absurd imitation of Denys.

"But that isn't me!" he cried. "I never has had a nursery all my life, and I won't be putted in it now."

Grandfather held out his hand at once to him.

"Well spoken, my little Bantam! Where would you like to be putted?"

Puff's one little spark of impudence was over. He lowered his head and got very red.

"Puff doesn't know what he is talking about," I said. "He tries to be bigger than he is. But if you don't object, grandfather, we'd like to call the nursery the schoolroom."

Puff seemed to have broken the ice and grandfather did not look alarming to me; only little, and old.

And then we all shook hands with him, and told him our names, and Denys began to talk. But I did not fancy he was quite so sure of himself now as he had been upstairs, for he stammered a little.

"We'd like to thank you for having us here, and—and—I dare say you'll let us fellows know about school and that kind of thing. We're going to be soldiers, Aylwin and I. We think the Navy good enough for Puff. He's short and stubborn and wants keeping down, but of course he's a kid, and hasn't had much chance as yet. I don't know what you'll settle about the girls."

There was dead silence, then grandfather threw his head back on his cushion and began to laugh. Denys got as red as Puff had, for grandfather seemed to be laughing at him. And then he turned to Aunt Isobel.

"I wash my hands of 'em all, my dear. You'll settle what becomes of them. I don't envy you the job. And, now I've seen them, they can make themselves scarce."

He waved his hand to us, as if dismissing us, and said:

"Go on reading, Isobel."

But Denys stood firm. He wasn't going to be treated like this.

"Excuse me, grandfather, but there are a few things we'd like to say. First, the old servant of yours—Peggy—seems to think that she is to rule us. She may manage Puff, but not the rest of us. We hope you'll trust to our honour to behave ourselves. We mean to, and we're accustomed to go our own way, and do pretty well as we think best. If you have any special rules you'd like us to follow, we'll keep them, but we've never been managed by an old woman servant, and never shall be!"

Then grandfather turned upon him. He simply thundered. I was really frightened.

"'While' you're under my roof, young fellow, you're under my orders, I'll have you remember! I'll have no impertinence from you. I'm an old soldier, and when I say a thing I stick to it. I've rescued you from the workhouse for the sake of—"

Here he gulped and almost choked.

"—of your mother, who—who rued the day she went against my wishes. And as to going your own way, it will be my way, I can tell you. Isobel, pack them off to the school we heard about to-morrow. The sooner they're under discipline the better!"

Aunt Isobel murmured something under her breath about Easter holidays, and then Denys seemed to come to himself, and he spoke in his usual frank open way:

"I beg your pardon, sir. I ought not to have spoken so. Of course we're ready to carry out your orders. If we are not soldiers yet, we're Empire-builders, and we know discipline and duty are for all of us."

"Young Jackanapes!" growled grandfather.

But his outburst of temper seemed over.

"Go along with you," he said. "Your aunt will settle everything!"

We left the room feeling very small and rather miserable. I think we all felt that neither grandfather nor Aunt Isobel really cared twopence about us! And we all went up to the schoolroom to "talk over the situation,"—that's what Aylwin called it.

"The situation is a sad one," I said. And I sat down by the window, and looked out at the sea and felt miserable.

"It's a bad one!" said Denys, shaking his head.

Lynette danced round the table, her hair flying over her shoulders. She looked as if she hadn't a care in the world, and as if father hadn't died.

"Don't let us bother," she cried; "and don't let us stick up here. We have the whole day before us, and we can boat, and bathe, and paddle, and catch fish. Grandfather won't want to see any more of us. There's nothing to talk about. We have just got to enjoy ourselves!"

Puff clapped his hands and capered after her.

"I don't like the old gempleum at all!" he said. "And I won't never go into his room again."

Then the door opened very suddenly, and Aunt Isobel came in.

Denys very politely drew an arm-chair forward for her.

"I have come to talk to you all," she said, looking at us very gravely. "You do not seem to realise how very difficult it is for your grandfather to have taken you all in, as he has. He is an old man, and suffers very much from gout. And you, Denys, spoke to him in a most disrespectful and improper manner."

Denys got very red. Then he squared his shoulders and spoke out:

"I'm sorry. I should like you to explain things—it's strange to all of us, and I don't know what is expected of us."

"We have made arrangements for you two elder boys to go to a school about twenty miles from here as boarders. I have a governess coming in three weeks' time to teach you two girls, and your little brother. She will take entire charge of your education. Peggy will look after the little boy and mend your clothes and wait upon you. We had intended keeping you here for three weeks, but I don't know now that your grandfather will like to have you in the house."

"Oh, please Aunt Isobel," I said, "let us be together till we are accustomed to you. It all seems so dreadfully strange. We'll keep to our part of the house, won't we, boys? And grandfather need not see us at all, nor hear us. And we'll be as good as gold. We really will. It is very good of you to have us. We all feel that, don't we?"

I turned to the others, and they all nodded their heads.

I don't know if it was fancy, but I thought that Aunt Isobel seemed rather shy of us.

And then Lynette put in her word. She never can keep silent for long, but she put on her coaxing face.

"I dare say you'll just tell us whether there's a boat that we can have, and whether we shall have ponies to ride, or if there's a carriage to drive out in, and shall we have all our meals upstairs?"

"Most certainly. Peggy will arrange your meals. I dare say I may sometimes take one of you driving with me."

"And may we go all over the garden?" I asked.

"You may go anywhere you like, as long as you do not get into mischief. We have a boat, but you must never use it unless one of the men is with you. Davey, the under-gardener, takes it out, and he must always be with you."

"He'll have to come pretty often," said Aylwin under his breath.

"And please, Aunt Isobel," I said, "shall we ever have to come into your part of the house for anything—for—for prayers?"

She looked at me curiously, then said shortly:

"We have no prayers. If we want you, we shall send for you."

"There's just a question I'd like to ask," said Aylwin. "We're all stony broke—the whole lot of us. We haven't had our pocket-money for two months now, and we had to give a few presents away before we left the Rectory. I believe Grisel has twopence halfpenny, but that's as much as we possess between us. Is grandfather going to give us any pocket-money?"

"Shut up!" growled Denys. "There's plenty of time for that later on!"

Aunt Isobel got up from her chair.

"I'll speak to your grandfather about it," she said with great dignity, and then Puff astonished us by pushing up to her.

"Would you like to see me stand on my head?" he asked, smiling at her like a little angel. "I'm awful good at it!"

She waved him away.

"A very unhealthy occupation," she said, and then she left the room.

"Well," said Denys gloomily, "we've got something out of her, but she's a bit too cold for my liking. Now come on out, all of you!"

We were delighted, and, in spite of the strangeness and coldness of it all, we had an awfully jolly day. We first of all went to the stables and talked to the old coachman. There were only a fat pair of carriage horses and a gaunt-looking cob for a luggage cart. But Denys looked at the cart, told old Ambrose that it would suit us very well, and that he would like to drive out that afternoon.

"I'm a good whip," he said grandly; "and you can trust the old cob to me. We want to see the lie of the country. Will you send the cart round at three o'clock sharp!"

I gasped for breath. Lynette sniggled, and Aylwin winked at me. Denys very often astonished us, but I was astonished much more when Ambrose said meekly:

"Very well, sir. It shall be done."

And then we walked off and visited the dairy, and the laundry, and the walled fruit garden, and went along the long winding paths through the shrubbery, and were taken through the hothouses by a nice old gardener called Keith, and then the boys rushed off to see some silver pheasants, and we separated. Puff was enchanted to see a pond with some wild-fowl in it, and Lynette stayed with him whilst I went through a little iron gate in the middle of a high yew hedge, and found myself in a most lovely little sunk garden. It was an old rose garden, but there were no roses yet, only daffodils and narcissus in the bed. There were old rustic seats under trees—and a little stream which went along at the bottom and emptied itself, I suppose, into the pond. It seemed so quiet and still and peaceful, that for the first time I felt comforted. There was a sloping green bank covered with beautiful ferns, and a little rock garden at the top of it, and then suddenly I saw a little gravestone under a rose-tree, and when I went down on my knees before it, I read quite distinctly:

"IN MEMORY OF GRACE'S DARLING ROSEBUD
 DESTROYED BY FLUFFIE'S PUPPIES."

I felt all the tears come into my eyes, for I knew then that "Rosebud" had belonged to our mother.

I did not know who Rosebud was, a canary, a cat, or what kind of pet, but I sat down by the grave, and I began to think of dear father's grave in Lincolnshire, and then I thought of Heaven, and then thought of the charge he left us.

And then I knelt down and asked God to help us to "Hold fast," for there seemed nobody in this place who would help us to be good. We all felt the difference since father died. We always had him to go to when we wanted help—and he often gave it to us when we didn't ask for it. And then I remembered that, of course, God could help us quite alone, and that we really did not want anybody else. I felt a little happier then.

Then I wondered what our governess would be like. Lynette and I have never had a proper governess before. I thought it might be rather nice, it wouldn't be quite so lonely if we had somebody to look after us a little. And then I heard Lynette calling to me, and of course when I ran off, I found that Puff had nearly tumbled into the pond, and had soaked his clothes. We went back to the house, for I knew it must be nearly dinner-time. The boys met us at the door, and we went upstairs together. Peggy took Puff off.

"Is he sich a naughty bairn?" she said a little crossly.

"Oh no," I said, "but it's his way; he's always getting wet, or dirty, or torn. We don't think anything of it."

We had a hot leg of mutton, and a jam roly-poly for dinner. And we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

"I don't know that I want a drive," Lynette said; "I want to get down to the sea."

"It's high tide in the afternoon," said Denys. "I knew that before I asked for the cart."

"I suppose grandfather won't mind us taking it out," I said.

"He won't know or care," said Denys confidently. "We must see what kind of country we are in and where the nearest town is."

We were all ready and waiting at three o'clock.

One of the grooms brought the cart round to the back entrance and we all crowded in. Then Peggy came out in a fuss.

"Where are you going? Who told you to do this? You'll upset yourselves."

The groom grinned.

"'Tis all right," he said. "The mistress were told by Ambrose afore we harnessed up, and her said as how she thought if the young gent could drive, they could go. Slapper be a reg'lar old sheep!"

So we all set off in style. Denys flourished his whip. We almost thought we were driving Andy again, only Slapper's long legs got over the ground much quicker. We couldn't help giving a cheer and a wave of our hands as we passed the front of the house, and Lynette said she believed she saw grandfather looking out at us.

We trotted down the avenue, and then got out on a bare bleak road, with a long stone wall separating us from the sea. The air was salt and delicious, and the waves were rolling in, in first-rate style. It made us feel very jolly, and we began to sing some of our Empire songs as we went along. We liked our "old sheep." He swung along and though he didn't appear to go fast, he really did, and he never turned his head to look at a single thing. We began to talk about him.

"I like him," I said; "he goes straight ahead and does his duty, and puts his whole soul into it."

"Horses have no souls," objected Lynette. "I don't think much of him; he has no spirit."

"He's quite an ancient," Aylwin said, "he has one foot in the grave, so of course he is solemn."

"I expect he was always an old sheep," said Denys. "He didn't even wink at us when he saw us, and he must know we're a fresh lot here. But he has got beyond being surprised. If we were to dress him up as we did Andy, he would just trot on as gravely as ever."

"We'll try," said Lynette.

So she took off her big straw hat, and Denys pulled up, and Aylwin crawled along his back and tied it on. He just flicked his ears and bore it, and then we drove on, and he looked so comical that we roared with laughter.

All this time we had met nobody. I had never been along such a deserted road, and then suddenly, as we were driving close along to the top of a cliff, we heard a shout.

"Hi! Help!"

Denys pulled up at once. We all listened. It came again.

"It's somebody fallen over the cliff," said Denys.

He and Aylwin got out of the cart and ran to the edge and looked over. I was terrified that they would tumble over themselves. And then I heard Denys cry:

"All right! Here we are! Hold on!"