’What?’ snapped the King’s Regulations. ’I’m sure you won’t,’ said the Hickley Woods again. ’Why not?’ demanded the King’s Regulations furiously. ’Because you’ve done the same yourself, Master Ross.’ And Sam went into the house quickly, leaving his master gasping,— ’Oh, what a chap!’ * * * * * And everything is packed, and there is only just the telegram to wait for. * * * * * And it has come and he is to go to-night. * * * * * And now it is to-night, and he has gone. Oh, it was hard that I was made to go to bed early as usual. It is sometimes very difficult to be a doormat. So he came to say ’good-bye’ to me when I had gone to bed. ’Oh, Meg, isn’t it just too rotten to miss daddy?’ And I agreed it was. ’You will keep the nurse a few more days, darling, won’t you? Just till Monday, anyway. I shall feel that much happier about you, if you will.’ So I said I would. I wanted him to go away ’that much happier,’ though I would much rather have been alone. ’Feeling pretty well, to-night, little ’un?’ ’Yes, pretty well. Ross, darling, I have loathed having you.’ ’I know,’ he said. ’It’s been the most wretched five months I ever remember, and this cottage is appalling. I suppose you couldn’t see your way to move into a red-brick villa. Oh, here’s your watch, it came to-day.’ ’Oh, thank you, I’d forgotten all about it.’ ’You’ll be able to count the hours now till daddy comes, Meg.’ ’Yes,’ and I thought that I could also count the minutes till my brother went. I looked at my watch and found it wasn’t my old silver thing, but a little gold wrist one set with pearls, and he ’hoped I liked it,’ and I said I did. And then he asked,— ’Have I taken care of you nicely for Michael, little ’un?’ I said he had. ’Oh, Meg, I do wish daddy had come. Why does Aunt Constance go and get the ’flu again, just when I wanted her to be here to look after you.’ ’I don’t know, but I shall be all right, Ross.’ ’Why, Jonathan, you’re like the old woman that used to amuse you in the village, there’s ’Only the Almighty’ left to do it.’ And I smiled, but my lips quivered, too, and I clenched my hands. So then he sat down on my bed and said,— ’You needn’t be ashamed to if you want to. I know you’ve got "views" about it, and didn’t when you said good-bye to Michael, but a person that has had a bug is not considered to be eternally disgraced if she does.’ So I did, and clung to him a little while, and then he remarked that it was an awful thing to have a sister who had got a bug, so that no one would come and stay with her. Then he kissed me and whispered,— ’I’m not perfectly positive that you aren’t safest of all with Him, darling.’ *PART III* ’Acquainted with grief.’ *CHAPTER I*