Mrs. Darrel had seen the snakes too often to be disturbed, and Edmund was in his element. As for Oscar, he fell into sad disgrace--he kicked the marmosets. Lady Margaret was too kind to say anything; but Mrs. Morris did the subject justice all the way home. "At least you might have kicked them, quietly, under the table," said she; "but no, you do it sideways in full view of everyone!" The next day the party journeyed on towards London. The sun shone brightly and the weather, which had been so abnormally cold as to require overcoats, or as the English term them, "top coats," grew warmer, so that there was nothing to mar enjoyment unless it were the lack of harmony between the two boys. This still continued. If there were times when Edmund felt his dislike yielding ever so slightly to Oscar's good humor and gay spirits, his pride and his contempt for his cousin stiffened it at once. It was two days after their arrival in a quiet town near London where they were to stay a few days for rest at a picturesque old inn, that Mrs. Morris received a letter from Mrs. Darrel. She read it at the breakfast table. Before she was half down the first page she turned to Nora: "There! Didn't I tell you one of those snakes was gone? Listen to this: 'Poor Lady Margaret is in such distress over losing her pet snake, the one she called Marcus Aurelius. She thinks she didn't replace the cover of the box securely the day you were there, for she hasn't seen it since. She fears it crawled away and wandered into the village and was killed. Isn't she a dear old goose?'" "Was it the little trick-snake?" said Oscar. "What a shame!" Edmund said nothing; he was sorry for Lady Margaret and he was sorry for himself. The little Marcus Aurelius had made a deep impression on him; ever since he had been meditating the bold venture of writing to Lady Margaret asking her if she would sell or exchange that snake. He kept thinking of the matter all the morning, wondering what had become of Marcus. In the afternoon, he was to drive with his Aunt Nora. While he was dressing, Celeste, the maid, brought him his overcoat. Madame desired him to wear it, as he had a cold. "Very well," said Edmund, obliging as usual. Approaching to put the coat on, a little later, he stopped short. Surely the wind didn't cause that singular flutter in the cloth! Then the flap moved. "Come out!" cried Edmund. As though in response to his invitation a small head erected itself from the pocket, a small green head with glittering eyes, a head which had an indescribably droll and Waggish air--the head, in short, of the lost Marcus Aurelius. The intelligent reptile immediately crawled out. He wound himself about the hand Edmund held to him, curled under the boy's sleeve, nestled under his sleeve with manifest pleasure at renewing the acquaintance.