The Wouldbegoods: Being the Further Adventures of the Treasure Seekers

outhful relatives; and Dora said its cape was trimmed with real lace, whatever that may be-I don't see myself how one kind of lace can be realler than an

t is,' Dora said. 'Isn

d she thought it was most likely the c

said. 'Can't you see something crime

e on the shady side fast asleep, only a very little further on than where the

e, so now they're sleeping the sleep of exhaustedness,' Alice said. 'What a heart-rending scene when

ave kissed it. They are strangely fond of kissing.

said 'perhaps they'd sell it to us

with it if you'd go

ought I should enjoy adopting a baby. It would be a g

ht there were enough

none of you ba

as a baby: he behaves jo

, and the medal he got at school, and what is left of his watch and chain. The box is lined with red velvet and it was not nice afterwards. And then H. O. said Dick

the Baby! Co

e othe

sage about some flour that hadn't come,

then it is the mill. It is a jolly fine mill: in fact it is two-water and wind ones-one of each kind-w

thick slice of rich home-made cake. And there would have been fresh roses in an old china bowl on the table. As it was, she asked us all into the parlour and gave us Eiffel Tower lemonade and Marie biscuits. The chairs in her parlour were 'bent wood', and no flowers,

ls could catch the wind, and the great heaps of corn, some red and some yellow (the red is English wheat), and the heaps slice down a little bit at a time into a square hole an

te, like sugar on pancakes when you are allowed to help yourself. And he opened a door and showed us the great water-

our immed

plied politely; and when he was gone to tell his man

; he found us in lines and hooks, and several different sorts of bait, inclu

hing from beginning to end. We boys have got to like it. We don't feel now as we did when we turned off the water and stopped the competition of the competing anglers. We had a grand day's fi

a young pike, but he was so very young the miller asked us to put him back

Tower lemonade, and we went home at last, a little damp,

ngs out over so many persons, so it's thicker, like a pound of butter on one loaf is thicker than on a dozen. Friendliness in the country is not scrape, like it is in London. Even Dicky and H. O. forgot the affair

d the cloverfield, and then we came to the other lane where we had seen the Baby. The

?' Noel said dreamily. He had not fished much,

w I

s a

ld no

our

still an

ottom of

you wen

r crue

not find

the

lordly perambulator. You can disguise a baby in rags and walnut juice, bu

e it as a wheel-ba

eaves,' said H. O.,

afterwards we had to own that even a young

nd weeds trodden down by the hasty feet of persons who were late for church and in too great a hurry

een shaved for some time, and it has grown out beyond the stile and here, among the hazels and chestnuts and young dogwood bushes, we saw som

inall's and the hairs of the brush come out and it is gritty-looking, but smooth, like the handles of ladies very best lace parasols. And whoever had abandoned

was a chance to be real detectives. Oswald alone retained a calm e

lways have a clue directly they hear about the finding of the body. And besides, we might as

daresay you have noticed-that the others agreed. It was Oswald, too, who showed his artl

or, and the sorrowing relations. Besides, suppose someone saw us with the beastly thing, and thought we had stolen it; then they would say, "What have you done with th

's shove the derelict a li

we

as ready and so were Alice and

anyway,' Alice said when we asked. 'She can te

Mrs Pettigrew had helped us and left the room he began the thrilling tale of the forsaken perambulator. He tol

be thinking of something else. They kept looking at each other and tryin

thought you'd like to be in it. It's going to be a real

O. said; 'the

d had to be thumped on the back. But Oswald was not appeased. When Alic

ens,' he went on, 'I'd just as soon go through

bulator?' sai

ald went on, without ta

o,' said Alice, 'when

id H. O., 'if you mea

mbulator,' said Oswald,

wald under the

et, only it's Dora's secret, and she wants to tell you herself. If i

cond,' said t

ented to take t

said except asking for things to be pass

udding was all

me

etectives and sifting that perambulator to the very dregs. But boys have to try to take a

er end of the next field there was a sort of wooden house on wheels, that the shepherd sleeps in at the time of year

brother. 'Dora is inside,' she said, 'with the Secret. We w

r, for we all beheld Dora, sitting on a sack on

he High-

just like Betsy Trotwood did in David Copperfiel

' he said. 'I suppose you

ra said. 'I'v

said, 'who scuttled the p

unless Dora put down the Baby, and we were afraid of t

eally, don't

ce. And the little darling was awake and held out his arms to me. No, he hasn't cried a bit, and I know all about babies; I've often nursed Mrs Simpkins'

to crawl on the floor. She could only keep it quiet by saying things to it a boy would be asha

ressions the Baby laughed

'Bababa', or

the thing screwed its face up as if it was goi

rummy lit

t. It was greedy and slobbery, but all three girls seemed unable to keep

ent left for us now, for Oswald saw that Dora's S

played with the amber heart she wears that Albert's uncle brought her from

n stolen away; its wicked stealers have deserted the Precious. We've got it. Perhaps its ancestr

le lets you,' sa

ive fathers and three mothers, and a grandfather and a great Albert's uncle, and a great gra

it never is

etter,' said Dora,

n. Oswald, ever thoughtful, sai

ike a girl. 'Will you all agree

et life,' said Dick

But you'll see we shan'

r white rats,' said Dora, 'and h

d, with Oswald and the other boys. Only Noel stayed with Alice. He really seemed to like the baby. When I looked back

t her not being in to it, but she had kept her some mutton hot all the same. She is a decent sort. And there were s

hut, and before we got half across the last f

ld, with manly tenderness. 'The

d down with the Secret in her arms. It looked like Alice in Wonderland nursing the bab

is the matter w

nd Dora and I are quite worn out. He's been c

d, firmly, withdrawing

her waistband in the fu

my flannelette petticoat, only the horrid strings got

e was rubbing her hand like mad on her dress, and screaming almost as loud as the

l of the meal-worms the miller had kindly given him. And, anyway, Dora ought to have kn

ile of sacks in the corner. The titled infant delayed its screams fo

ater!' said Ali

eck to the ground. This nearest person was Oswald. He tried to pass it on to the others, but they wouldn't. Noel would have, but he was busy ki

did not wish, however innocently, to be the cause of its hurting itself at all. So he walked earnestly up and do

. He looked at it, and could hardly believe the glad tidings of his

eproaches about the meal-worms and

er of imperial command. 'Can'

the titled infant, for fear it should wake up if it changed hands, and begin to yell again. Dora's flannelette petticoat had been got off somehow-how I do not seek to inquire-and the Secret was covered with it. The other

. Then we took it in turns to sit by it and see that it did not get up and fling itsel

lbert's uncle

ooked out and saw that there he was talking to a distracte

s. But you never know. And it seemed strange his sending a man up on his own horse. But when we had looked a

e in. A deputation met him at the door-all th

ra said, 'and we want to kn

how long it could howl. Even Noel had said he had no idea a baby could yell like it. Dora said it only c

ncle. 'Let's see this treasur

id Dora, and we le

etticoat with silly pride, and showed th

t's uncle. 'THE Baby

ich he uses to express d

at doesn't matter. We'

n a moment or two we saw him m

eturned with the d

rseman and his wife were the lodgers at the mi

t to speak to her sweetheart who was gardener at the Red H

so pleased as the d

he Baby was the prey of gipsies, and the distracted ho

l thinks she was right. As for Oswald and most of the others, they agreed that they wo

n the frenzied throes of sleepiness you c

n having the whole thing written in the Golden Deed book. Of course his share could not be put in without telling about Dora's gener

seman must have of it, though-especia

aby. Eight is not enough. We know that because we tried, and the whole eight of us were n