“You must be more careful: your health is infinitely more important than any wretched examination. Well, at all events, I’m very glad to see you.” * * * * * A couple of hours later, after dinner, she again took up the subject of my appearance, which evidently did not satisfy her, though I assured her there was nothing the matter. “You’ve altered,” she said, thoughtfully. “It isn’t only that you’ve grown, but you, somehow, look older. Do you get your meals properly? I expect you stop to play after school instead of coming home to your dinner!” I changed the subject as soon as I could by asking after the Dales. “Will they be here next summer?” “If you would like it I daresay we can manage it. In fact I invited Katherine for Christmas, but she couldn’t come.” “I hope they will come in the summer.” I inquired after all the other people I could think of: I felt interested in everything that had happened since I had gone away. Then I sat quiet, and quite suddenly, when I thought she had forgotten all about it, Mrs. Carroll said, “I wish you would tell me, Peter, just what is troubling you.” “But there is nothing,” I answered, smiling. “I was only thinking how nice it was to be back here again.” “Remember you are to come to stay for a few days, before the end of your holidays. You must stay at least a week. When have you to go back?” “On the eighth.” “And those people you are with――the What-do-you-call-ems――how do you like them?” “The McAllisters?” I hesitated. “Not very much.” “Do they look after you properly?” “Oh yes.” “I think I’ll come and see you there. I would have gone before this, only your father didn’t want it.” “I’d rather you didn’t,” I said. “Why?” I had no answer and she went on: “I must call and have a talk with your father before you go back.” “It won’t do any good so far as that is concerned. He wants me to be there. Aunt Margaret is his sister.” “I know that, but you’d rather be by yourself, wouldn’t you? I can see there is something you don’t like.” “My father wouldn’t let me. He has some idea about a home influence――but I told you before, and of course he told you himself.” “Home fiddlesticks! You’d have been far better at a good boarding-school. This, it seems to me, is neither one thing nor another. I must speak to him.” “There is no use really,” I said, for I knew that if she were to take the matter up again it might end in my not even being allowed to come to stay at Derryaghy next week. “Your father is far too anxious about you. If there had been two or three more of you it would have been much better.” “It isn’t that.” I waited a while before I brought it out: “He doesn’t trust me.” “Doesn’t trust you? In what way doesn’t he trust you?” “In every way. He thinks I’m inclined naturally to――to do things――” “To do things? What sort of things?” “To be bad,” I said abruptly.