The Slowcoach

vory, and it lived in an old house in Chiswick, where th

Avory was thirty-five, and she had four children. The eldest was Janet, aged fourteen, and the youngest w

they had done so, I should not be telling this story. You don't catc

who had funny ideas, wanted to see all the people who lived in all the houses that are called "The Gables" everywhere drawn up in a row so that she migh

rshipped, while Robert's were compasses and maps. He also had a mapmeasurer (from Mr. Lenox), and at the moment at which this story opens, his birthday being just over, he was the possessor of a pedometer, which he carried fastened to his leg, under his knickerbockers, so that it was certain to register every time he

the worst things that can happen to a human being. Gregory Bruce was a little less lucky, for his birthday was on December 20, which is so near to Christmas Day that mean persons have been know

model aeroplane which Mr. Scott had given him was beginning to turn his thoughts towards the conquest of the air, and whereas

ers first touched magically; but Gregory Bruce Avory wanted to fly in a more regular and scientific manner. He wanted to fly like an engineer. To his mind, indeed, the flying part of "Peter Pan" was the lea

t meal times he used to say, "Woe is me, I have no knife"; while Hester was happiest in the lagoon scene. This differen

Janet relieved her of many little duties. She always knew when their feet were likely to be wet, and Robert had once said that she had "stocking changing on the brain." She could cook, t

bowling was fast and straight, and usually too much for Robert, who knew, however, the initials of all the gentlemen and the Christian names and birthplaces of most of the professionals. Gregory could not bear

o be pretty. She looked nicest in blue. Hester, on the contra

he was naturally a grubby little beast, but because engineers do. Robert, on the contrary, was disposed to be dressy,

looked after Mrs. Avory's money and gave advice. He was very nice, and came to dinner every Sunday (hot roast beef and horse radish sauc

ox, who was private secretary to a real lord, and therefore had lots of time and money. Both Mr. Scott and Mr.

auffeurs, and several Chiswick boatmen extremely intimately. Robert's principal friend ou

and Miss Bingham, who taught them the things that one is supposed to know-Mr. Crawley taking the boys in the old billiard room, and Miss Bingham the girls in the morning room. At some of the lessons-such as

Raffles" was now rather inclining him to gentlemanly burglary. William Rotheram, like Gregory, lea

Rendal," and "Seventeen come Sunday"-by heart, and sang them beautifully. Gregory, who used to revel in Sankey's hymns as sung by Eliza Pollard, the

ell-worn cricketpitch right in the middle of the lawn, and Gregory had a railway system where the best flowers ought to be; but it was a garden f

ed. Collins understood children thoroughly, and made cakes that were rather wet underneath. Her Yorkshire puddin

ad never been cross to any of them, but her way with the butcher

old Kink spent quite a lot of his time in rubbing from off

h her last young man and getting another. She told Hester all about it. Hester had a special knack of bei

fact, she couldn't abide it-and therefore she was steadily true to a young man called 'Erb, who looked after the lift at the Sto

herself, and why she was suddenly called Mrs. no one ever quite knew, for she had never married. And now she was getting on for sixty, and had not much to do except sympathize with the Avories and reprove the servants. She had a nice sitting room of

ked in on her for a little gossip; and this was called his "runcible sp

the Avory famil