Produced by Al Haines [Frontispiece: NOBBLES WAS TIGHTLY GRASPED IN HIS HAND.] 'Me and Nobbles' By AMY LE FEUVRE Author of 'Probable Sons,' 'Teddy's Button,' 'Jill's Red Bag,' 'Odd,' 'His Little Daughter,' etc. London THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY 4 Beuverie Street and 65 St. Paul's Churchyard, E.C. 4. 1908 CONTENTS CHAPTER PROLOGUE I.--'MASTER MORTIMER' II.--'HE MAY COME TO-MORROW!' III.--THE BEAUTIFUL PICTURE IV.--HIS NEW FRIEND V.--NOBBLES' MISFORTUNE VI.--HIS FATHER VII.--HIS NEW HOME VIII.--A LETTER FROM ABROAD IX.--'SHE HAS LEFT US!' X.--'WE'RE GOING TO FIND A GOVERNESS! XI.--BOBBY'S VISITOR XII.--'A DELIGHTFUL TIME XIII.--THE WEDDING XIV.--'NEARLY DROWNED' XV.--THE OLD HOUSE AGAIN 'ME AND NOBBLES.' PROLOGUE. [_To be skipped by children if they like._] It was a very silent old house. Outside, the front windows stared gravely down upon the tidy drive with its rhododendron shrubberies, the well-kept lawn with the triangular beds, and the belt of gloomy fir trees edging the high brick wall that ran along the public road. The windows were always draped and curtained, and opened one foot at the top with monotonous regularity. No one was ever seen leaning out of them, or even pushing back the curtains to widen their view. There was a broad flight of steps, and a ponderous door which, when opened, disclosed a long hall, at the end of which was a gaily flowered conservatory. Instinct made people tread gently upon the thick Turkey rugs that were laid upon the polished floor; there was a stillness in the house that seemed to chill one. If you peeped into the big dining-room, the portraits upon the wall eyed you with disapproval; the table, which was always laid with snowy-white cloth and shining silver, seemed severely austere and formal; the high back chairs and the massive sideboards bade you respect their age. The drawing-room was quite as awe-inspiring, for the blinds were nearly always down, and it had a musty unused scent telling you that its grandeur was not for daily use. The library was gloomier still. Its windows were of stained glass; books of the dingiest hue surrounded you; they lined the walls; and the furniture and carpet matched them in tone. Ghostly busts on pedestals, scientific machines, and a huge geographical and astronomical globe added to its gloom. The sun had a way of only hastily shining in when he could not help himself, and he left it till the last moment just before he went to bed. He was not fond of that room, and there was no one in the house that was.