Peterkin

No sooner did he catch sight of us two with his ugly round beady eyes . . . than he shut up " " 52 Pete held out his brown-paper parcel. 'This is the poetry-book,' he said " " 97 We had no difficulty in finding her bath-chair " " 108 He looked at the tickets. . . . 'How's this?' he said " " 145 'Now,' she began . . . drawing Margaret to her, 'tell me all about it' " " 159 The frills had worked up all round his face " " 173 PETERKIN WHAT CAN HAVE BECOME OF HIM? We were all at tea in the nursery. All except him. The door burst open and James put his head in. 'If you please, Mrs. Brough,' he began,—'Mrs. Brough' is the servants' name for nurse. Mamma calls her 'Brough' sometimes, but we always call her 'nurse,' of course,—'If you please, Mrs. Brough, is Master Peterkin here?' Nurse looked up, rather vexed. She doesn't like burstings in. 'Of course not, James,' she said. 'He is out driving with his mamma. You must have seen them start.' 'It's just that,' said James, in his silly way. 'It's his mamma that wants to know.' And then we noticed that James's face was much redder than usual. It may have been partly that he had run upstairs very fast, for he is really very good-natured, but it looked as if he was rather in a fuss, too. Nurse sat very bolt up in her chair, and her face began to get queer, and her voice to get vexeder. Lots of people get cross when they are startled or frightened. I have noticed it. 'What do you mean, James? Please to explain,' she said. 'I can't stop,' he said, 'and I don't rightly understand, myself. His mamma sent Master Peterkin home before her, half-an-hour ago or more, but he hasn't come in, not as I've seen, nor nobody else, I'm afraid. So where he's got to, who can say?' And James turned to go. Nurse stopped him, getting up from her place as she spoke. 'Was he in the carriage?' she asked. 'Of course not. Beckett would have seen him in, all right, if he had been,' said James, in a very superior tone. 'He was to run home by himself a bit of a way, as I take it,' he added,…