In this manner the practising got finished, and the children hastened to restore the furniture to its usual state in the room before the appearance of Nurse Nancy, who might now be expected to look in at any moment. Two or three times Turly had tried to remove his helmet, but had failed, and so it was left on his head till all was in order. At last, however, the children were confronted with a difficulty. The helmet had to come off Turly's head, and it wouldn't. "Oh, Turly, it must come off!" said Terry. "Says it won't," said Turly. "Got wedged. Wish it was a little bit more up, that a fellow could see better. Don't bother, Terry, perhaps it'll change its mind. Won't it be a joke to see Nurse's face?" The door opened on the moment, and the expected face was seen. Nurse Nancy stood amazed. "Turly, what do you mean by using your Gran'ma's nice things in such a manner? That's one of the beautiful ornaments your uncle sent her from India. Take it off directly, and put the palm back into it." "It doesn't like the palm, Nurse. It would rather have me!" cried Turly, dancing about impishly at the same time, trying to shake the pot off his head by the movement. "Do you mean to be disobedient, Turlough?" "The pot is awfully disobedient," said Turly. "I tell you it won't come off." "We'll see about that," said Nurse Nancy, putting her hands to the pot. But to her consternation it refused to move. "Shake your head out of it, Turly!" "I shook and shook, and it only gets tighter on. If I shake any more it will come down about my neck, and my eyes will be gone up into it, and my mouth and my nose!" Here was a state of things. Nurse looked ready to faint, as she thought of her boy being smothered before her eyes in a Benares pot. "Oh, Turlough! why did you do anything so wild as putting your head into that pot?" "He didn't, Nursey," said Terry, trembling and pale. "It was I who put it on his head for a helmet." "I can believe it, Terencia Mary," said Nurse. "You are always the ringleader. And why did they call you Mary, like your gentle mother and grandmother? There's no Mary-ness in you, you shocking girl, that couldn't do your little bit of practising without running after helmets." Here another attempt was made to dislodge Turly's head, while Terry stood wringing her hands. "I say, Nurse," said Turly, "don't you go abusing Terry for nothing. I dressed myself up as a soldier, and I was taking my wagons to the wars, and I had everything right but a helmet, and Terry was afraid I might be shot, so there! she isn't to be blamed for it." "And your dinner ready, and you not able to take it," said Nurse. "Oh, am I not? Just you see if I don't make use of my mouth as long as I've got it." "Come then," said Nurse; "and I must see about sending to Dublin for a surgeon, though how I'm to manage all without your Gran'ma knowing, I'm sure I'm at my wits' ends to guess."