Peterkin

ted to us, for she's awfully keen on our all be

favours t

ut there's nothing like him for sticking to a thing, once he has got it into his head. And certainly fortune favoured him at th

boys and boys like that who mocked at him. But we

boys. Polly shall h

Polly,' he repeate

short dark hair, but a little girl's head. We could tell that at once by the way it was combed, or brushed, even if we had not seen, as we did, a white muslin pinafore, with lace ruffly t

om floor. We could have seen her so much better down

e came out a little farther. I felt sure by her manner that she was alone in the roo

alking to

speak loudly at all, but

ess I thought it fair to let him speak before me. 'Yes, bu

im, you know, and I was going to call to you to run away. But-' and she glanced at us again.

might help th

p. 'My little brother is very interes

d at my calling him 'little,' but just now he was

iresome talking down to you from up here. Wait a minute,' she added, 'and I'll come d

how it should go wrong after all. We did glance along the terrace, but nobody wa

han half a minute, before the dark head and white pinafore appeared again, this time, of cours

e dared not, for fear of the nurse coming. And the garden was very tiny, we we

us well over, before she bega

to see the pa

why he said 'thank you.' I suppose he meant it in return for her coming downstairs. 'I've bee

funny, little, rather condescending manner o

d his,' and I touched

e added quickly, as if she was afraid she had said somet

,"' I said,

a man in my history,' she s

history, but it's in poetry. About

ts of my name in history. My name is Margaret. T

e way he had been fancying to himself, she would scarcely have been able to come downstairs and talk to us as she was doing. And she was not dressed like the princesses in his stories, who had always gold crowns on and long shiny trains. Still, though she had only a pinafore on,

very cleverly of what sh

ndmamma, and she's as old as-as old as-' he seemed at a loss to find anything to compare poor grandmamma

I've never seen her, but I think I've heard he

nder you've never seen h

ll be coming in, and I've never told you about the parrot. I've lots to tell you. Will you come again? Not to-morrow, bu

little earlier,

ret n

shall think of lots of things to say. I want to tell you about

ned and walked back again. And then we saw that we had not left the front of Margaret's house any too soon, for a short, rather stout lit

aid Peterkin, in a low voice. '

fussy, I should

bidding Margaret good-bye. Pete had been thinking d

a moment or two's silence,-'

'What do you think

about the parrot and other things. And she didn't want her nurse to see us talking to her. And she said sh

they"?'

t's good ones. No, it can't be bad ones, for then they wouldn't have planned the parrot telling us about her

t he had made a discovery, or was on the way to one. And I, half in earnest, ha

y, I suppose, when we talk more to Margaret. We n

't she?' he said, 'though her hair isn't as pretty

ll right

for we had been walking more slowly than we knew

least wrong in keeping our making acquaintance a secret. What Margaret thought about it, so far as she did think of that part of it,

for Margaret had something very jolly ab

ut our visits to Rock Terrace even then. But if it did, I think I put it out again, by knowing that Margaret meant it to be a sec

d we were very anxious when Wednesday morning came, to see what sort of weather it was, for on Tuesday it rained. Not very badly, but enough for nurse to

een out on the terrace, which he wouldn't have been on at all on a bad day-if it was rainy. It wo

time I got off from school to the minute

efore I got there I saw Master Peterkin's sturdy figure steering along towards me, not far off. And when h

y, for his round face was grinning all o

you've got th

rprised at m

a said, when I learnt it, that that's the right way to say it; but Miss Tucker' ('Miss Tucker' was Blanche's and the little ones' governess) 'calle

yourself,' I said. 'I'd forgotten all about it; I

might really have thought by his tone that he believed he was the prin

e were actually rather too

s we meant to get for

't promise them, and I thought it would be better to as

ou see, if she didn't want her nurse to know about our coming to see her it

nter, and besides, she had a red shawl on, so she could not very well have caught cold. It was a very pretty shawl, with goldy marks or patterns on it. It was like one grandmamma

e were near enough to hear what she said without her callin

me inside the garden.

at the next-door balcony, t

there was a cloth, or something, half-down r

but Margaret nodded h

though it wasn't in a very polite way. He

ee laughed

'I daresay he won't talk at a

what we say?' asked Pe

shook h

PER PARCEL. 'THIS IS THE P

her low voices. I don't think,' she went on, almost in a whisp

a sort of spri

I am so glad you thin

she; 'that's partly wha

n her examining way, without speaking, for a minute, and be

id, 'and I've put a mark in the

her, and stood with his curly wig looking almost

much, Perkin, for remembering to bring it. I think I should like to call you "Perkin," if you do

a name of her own for me, but I

not to tell any one what I am going to tell you, I will explain all I can. I mean you mustn't tel

e we did

ot, and drawing back a little into the inside of the room. 'You can

ite well,'

y are in India. I lived there till about three years ago, and then they came here and

I said. 'Your father and

Gran is very good to me, and I'm used to being a good deal alone, you see, except for big people. I've always had lots of story books, and not very many lessons. So, after a bit, it didn't seem so very

e asked

she very seldom goes up and down stairs. And nurse does just exactly what Miss Bogle tells her. It was this way. Gran had to go away-a good way, though not so far as India, and he is always dreadfully afraid of anything happening to me, I suppose. So he sent me here with nur

, out of br

Peterkin, in a whisper. 'Do you think she wasn't

hook her h

hought the sea-air would do me good. But I've often had colds, and I never was treated like this before-never. For ever so long, she,' and Margaret nodded towards somewhere unknown, 'wouldn't let me come downstairs at all. And t