The cook laughed and slammed the casement. Presently, coming round to the front garden, wheels were heard grating on the gravel, and Brandon's voice shouted, "Swan, Swan, I say, is young Crayshaw here?" "No, sir," Swan shouted in reply; "not as I know of." Two voices were heard to parley at a distance, great excitement prevailed up in Parliament, excepting in the mind of Anastasia, whose notion of her own part in this ceremony of hiding was that she must keep her little feet very even and close together beside Johnnie's great ones; so she took no notice, though hasty footsteps were heard, and a voice spoke underneath, "Whereabout can young Mortimer be? we must find him." "I don't know, sir," repeated Swan, still raking peaceably. "He cannot be very far off, Swanny," said Brandon, "we saw him up the poplar-tree not a quarter of an hour ago." "Ay, sir, I shouldn't wonder," said Swan carelessly. "Bless you, whether their folks air rich or poor, they never think at that age what it costs to clothe 'em. I never found with my boys that they'd done climbing for crows' eggs till such time as they bought their own breeches. After that trees were nought but lumber, and crows were carrion." "But we really must find these boys, if we can," exclaimed Brandon; "and it seems as if they had all the family with them, the place is so quiet. Where do you think they can have gone?" "I haven't a notion, sir--maybe up to the fir-woods, maybe out to the common--they roam all about the country on half-holidays." "Oh," said the other voice, "they may go where they please, may they?" "Naturally so," said Swan; "they may go anywhere, sir, or do anything in reason, on a half-holiday. It would be a shame to give a pig leave to grunt, and then say he's not to grunt through his nose." "Perhaps they're up in Parliament," observed Brandon. "No, that they're not," Swan exclaimed; "so sure as they're there they make the roof ring." "And the door's, locked." "Yes, the door's locked, and wherever they air they've got the key. They let nobody in, sir, but my daughter, and she goes o' mornings to sweep it out." "Well, Swan, good day. Come on, George, we'll try the fir-wood first." "Or perhaps they're gone to Wigfield," said the second voice. "No, sir, I think not," said Swan. "They sent one of the little boys there on an errand, so I judge that they've no call to go again." Yes, one of the little boys had been sent, and had no reason to be ashamed of what he had also done there on his own account. What! though I have all sorts of good food in my father's house, and plenty of it, shall it not still be a joy to me to buy a whole pot of plum-jam with my ninepence? Certainly it shall, and with generous ardour I shall call my younger brothers and sisters together to my little room, where in appreciative silence we shall hang over it, while I dig it out with the butt-end of my tooth-brush.