“Little Spitfire!” ejaculated Geoffrey, surveying her crimson cheeks with calm derision. Whereupon Alice indignantly turned her back upon him and withdrew into her own corner of the nest, where she sat in silent, dignified retirement. She could see that the others were spending their time far more agreeably, and sincerely wished that she was one of the party, but her pride forbade her to move. Mary was evidently telling them an amusing story with much animation and gesticulation. A low but highly appreciative laugh from Reginald, as the tale concluded, showed that he had been an attentive listener. Raising himself on his elbow, he contributed his share to the general entertainment in a few short sentences; whatever he had said found entire favour with his audience, and elicited peals of applauding laughter from all three, as he once more subsided, and drew his hat over his eyes. “He never thinks it worth his while to amuse _me_ now,” thought Alice, with a half-envious, half-wistful glance in that direction. “I’m being devoured alive by midges!” suddenly exclaimed Geoffrey, jumping up and waving his handkerchief madly to and fro. “How you can stand them I can’t imagine; they are in my hair!”--with frenzied rubbing of his lint-white locks--“my ears, my eyes! I shall go out of my mind if I stay here any longer! I say, Alice, can I speak to you now?” “Depends altogether upon the topic you are going to broach,” replied Alice in a frosty tone. “Don’t look so grumpy, my dear little girl,” reaching out a hand to help her to rise, and of which she availed herself. “And to be wroth with one we love Doth work like madness in the brain,” quoted Geoffrey, dragging her into a perpendicular position. “Come along down to the river and see if there are any trout rising.” “There are none to rise.” “There must be, it’s just their supper-time. Well, anything is better than squatting in the hay for the delectation of the insect world; come and look for a bees’-nest down in the bottom of the meadow.” The hunt for the bees’-nest was fruitless. Alice, for one, brought neither zeal nor energy to the task. As they dawdled slowly homewards, Geoffrey suddenly said, as if struck by a brilliant idea: