"But red means danger," Mollie objected, "and we aren"t dangerous."
"Mamma is when we break rules," Prudence replied, "and it will remind Grizzel to hurry up."
"Good gracious!" Mollie e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed, as she climbed down on her errand, "I am glad we don"t hang a red lantern out of the nursery window when we see Mother coming along. How she would laugh if we did!"
"It won"t burn long," Prue said, as she shut the lantern door, "but it will do. Now we"ll go down the lane; I am almost sure Grizzel will come that way."
They crossed the garden and slipped into the lane through a narrow back gate. It seemed to Mollie that the darkness fell like a curtain, so quickly did it come dropping down. High up above the trees they could see the red lantern shining in the dusk like a glowing ruby; the air was growing chilly, and all the warm bright colours were fading into a dull uniform grey, when suddenly out of the shadowy dimness there leapt a dark form--a form with a bushy tail and a friendly bark.
"Laddie!" exclaimed Prudence, and a moment after Grizzel appeared, running along and swinging her basket.
"Am I late?" she asked breathlessly. "I didn"t mean to be so long; I stopped to look at the shop windows."
"Oh, Grizzel, where _have_ you been?" Prue said, catching her sister by the arm. "I have been so frightened. Come on quickly now, or we won"t be ready, and _then_ there will be a hullabuloo and goodness knows what tomorrow."
They hurried back to the house, and were met by an anxious Bridget with Baby in her arms. Bridget scolded, and Baby laughed, and they were all so busy "getting ready" that it was not till three white muslin frocks were spread primly over three green damask Victorian chairs that Prudence found time to ask:
"How on earth did you get down from the tree?"
"I just got down," Grizzel answered, looking mysterious, "I invented a secret way of getting down."
"Nonsense," Prudence said rather crossly; "there can"t be a secret way down."
"Well, find out for yourself," Grizzel retorted, her face taking on an obstinate expression.
"But how _did_ you?" Mollie asked, with an ingratiating smile.
Grizzel shook her rebellious little red curls. "It"s my secret," she repeated; "I won"t tell."
"When did you find out that the ladder was gone?" Prue asked, in a more amiable voice.
"I just knew. It"s part of the secret."
"You"ll have to tell Hugh," Prudence said firmly; "you can"t have secret ways into other people"s houses."
"I won"t tell anyone. It"s my mysterious secret and I shall keep it."
Prudence frowned and opened her mouth to speak again, but Mollie signed to her to be silent. Mollie was not a Patrol Leader for nothing; she had learned to be diplomatic, and now she turned the conversation:
"Where are those parcels?" she asked.
"The parcels! Goodness me, I forgot them! How _could_ I do such a thing!" Prudence exclaimed, jumping up from the green chair and rushing into the hall, followed by Mollie; Grizzel sat on in sulky dignity, trying to look uninterested.
"Suppose Papa had come home and found we had not opened them, his feelings would have been dreadfully hurt," Prudence said with compunction. "It would have been murder outing. He always says murder will out." Grizzel"s dignity could not survive the sight of the brown-paper packages, and the parcels were quickly undone and the wrappings and string tidied away--"the evidences of our folly", Prue said, as she bundled them out of sight. The contents were so charming that everybody forgot their little difference of opinion.
There was a fine large kaleidoscope, the first she had ever seen, for Mollie; a charming musical box, with a long list of tunes printed inside the lid and a little gilt key to wind it up with, for Prudence; a Winsor and Newton paint-box for Grizzel; _Five Weeks in a Balloon_, by Jules Verne, for Hugh; and a Punchinello doll on a stick for Baby.
"I must say," Mollie remarked appreciatively, "your father _is_ a peach. I have often wanted to see a proper kaleidoscope, but they seem to have gone out of fashion."
The others were too busy admiring their own things to observe Mollie"s remarks. Grizzel was speechless with joy as she found all the paints she had been longing for--the crimson lake, Prussian blue, Vand.y.k.e brown, and the rest; Prue had wound up her box, and as Mollie turned her kaleidoscope towards the light, and delighted herself with the wonderful colours and designs it produced, she heard the delicate, sweet tinkle of a faintly familiar tune--an old- fashioned sort of tune....
While they were thus pleasantly occupied Professor and Mrs. Campbell and Hugh returned, and Mollie was introduced to "Mamma" who after all did not look in the least alarming. She was a fair, pretty woman, with large clear eyes like Hugh"s and a beautifully modulated voice. She kissed Mollie and looked at her with rather a sad expression in her eyes:
"You must tell me all about home this evening," she said in her musical voice. "How nicely your hair is cut; I wonder if Prue"s would look nice like that."
"No, no," said Papa, laying his hand on Prue"s curls, "I can"t spare one hair off my Prue"s head. I must have my brown ringlets to play with sometimes."
Hugh could talk of nothing but the wonderful telephone. "I believe I could make one," he said later on. "I understood a good deal of what the man said. I shall require a new magnet and some other things.
I"ll begin tomorrow." He had forgotten all about such trifles as hidden ladders and treed sisters, and the girls did not remind him.
But when Mollie found herself alone with Grizzel she began to talk about the little house and described a beautiful plan she had concocted for a house-warming, finishing up with the remark that it was a pity that Grizzel could not come.
"Why can"t I come?" demanded Grizzel. "Of course I"ll come. I adore the little house."
"It"s Hugh"s house, and I don"t think he will let you come if you have a mysterious secret way of getting up and down. He won"t like it."
Grizzel was silent. "It"s nothing very wonderful," she said at last.
"I was only paying Prudence out for forgetting me. She might have remembered to let me down when Papa came home--" and Grizzel"s eyes filled with tears. Mollie"s heart softened:
"He was in such a hurry that there was no time to get you, and it was my fault afterwards just as much as Prue"s."
"I"ll tell you now if you like," Grizzel went on; "only you must promise not to tell Prudence and Hugh."
"No," said Mollie, "I can"t do that. Prudence was awfully frightened; she got quite pale. We were frightened together and looked for you together; it wouldn"t be fair for you to tell me and not to tell her. I hate things that are not fair."
Grizzel was silent again and then sighed. "Oh well, I suppose I"d better tell. I"d have liked to keep one secret, but I can"t bear not to go to Hugh"s party. It was very easy--I only--"
"Wait," said Mollie, "I"ll call Prue."
[Ill.u.s.tration: I WISH I COULD MAKE SOMETHING THAT WOULD REACH FROM HERE TO MY BROTHER]
"I saw Hugh take the ladder," Grizzel went on, after Prue joined them; "of course I heard it sc.r.a.ping along; Hugh is a silly. So I watched him hide it, and when the milkman came I called him, and he put it up and helped me down and we hid it back again. That"s all."
The others looked at each other, and then Mollie began to laugh, and went on laughing till Prue and Grizzel laughed at her laughing.
"Well, I must say!" she exclaimed at last, "I _am_ a Sherlock Holmes and no mistake! I was so busy being clever that I never even thought of a milkman, which would have been Baden-Powell"s first idea. Of all the silly things! Why on earth didn"t we think of it, Prue?"
Hugh, most reluctantly, went to school next morning, and Mamma kept the girls busy with Italian, music, and needlework till lunch-time.
After that Grizzel departed with her paint-box, Bridget took Baby for a walk, and Mollie and Prue settled themselves in the little house, with a cushion apiece at their backs, a basket of freshly pulled oranges between them, and a couple of books in case conversation should flag.
"Now, Prudence, tell me more about Time-travellers," Mollie said; "somehow I can"t seem to remember that I am one; in fact--" she paused.
"You can"t believe it," Prudence finished for her. "I know. But it"s meant to be like that. If you didn"t forget you would remember too much, and then you would stop being a Time-traveller, because your mind can"t be in two places at once. So it is better _not_ to talk; or you may have to go."
"I won"t again, but just tell me two things. Can we travel forwards as well as backwards?"
"A few people can, not everyone; but it is better not, Mollie. It is far better not."
"But you came into my Time to fetch me."