It had been a violent, a painful setting free, but it had happened; and who knew if, without their sudden appearance at Clark and the immediate effect they produced on his mother, he wouldn't have lapsed after all, in spite of the feelings and determinations he had brought back with him from Europe, into the old ways again under the old influence, and gone on ignobly pretending to agree, to approve, to enjoy, to love, when he was never for an instant doing anything of the sort? He might have trailed on like that for years--Mr. Twist didn't like the picture of his own weakness, but he was determined to look at himself as he was--trailed along languidly when he was at home, living another life when he was away, getting what he absolutely must have, the irreducible minimum of personal freedom necessary to sanity, by means of small and shabby deceits. My goodness, how he hated deceits, how tired he was of the littleness of them! He turned his head and looked at the profiles of the Annas sitting alongside him. His heart suddenly grew warm within him. They had on the blue caps again which made them look so bald and cherubic, and their eyes were fixed on the straight narrowing lines of rails that went back and back to a point in the distance. The dear little things; the dear, dear little things,--so straightforward, so blessedly straight and simple, thought Mr. Twist. Fancy his mother losing a chance like this. Fancy _anybody_, thought the affectionate and kind man, missing an opportunity of helping such unfortunately placed children. The twins felt he was looking at them, and together they turned and looked at him. When they saw his expression they knew the cloud had lifted still more, and their faces broke into broad smiles of welcome. "It's pleasant to see you back again," said Anna-Felicitas heartily, who was next to him. "We've missed you very much," said Anna-Rose. "It hasn't been like the same place, the world hasn't," said Anna-Felicitas, "since you've been away." "Since you walked out of the dining-room that night at Clark," said Anna-Rose. "Of course we know you can't always be with us," said Anna-Felicitas. "Which we deeply regret," interjected Anna-Rose. "But while you are with us," said Anna-Felicitas, "for these last few days, I would suggest that we should be happy. As happy as we used to be on the _St. Luke_ when we weren't being sea-sick." And she thought she might even go so far as to enjoy hearing the "Ode to Dooty," now. "Yes," said Anna-Rose, leaning forward. "In three days we shall have disappeared into the maw of the Delloggs. Do let us be happy while we can. Who knows what their maw will be like? But whatever it's like," she added firmly, "we're going to stick in it." "And perhaps," said Anna-Felicitas, "now that you're a little restored to your normal condition, you'll tell us what has been the matter." "For it's quite clear," said Anna-Rose, "that something _has_ been the matter."