"And--Oh dear me, Hazel, there is some one at the front door, and I've only got on my old cap. I really cannot be seen; I--Good gracious _me_, Hazel, don't let any one in." Too late. Hazel had already opened the door and admitted little Miss Burge, who came trotting in with her face all smiles. "I thought I should never get through the children," she panted; "and ain't it 'ot? How well you do look, my dear! Lavender muslin suits you exactly. And how are you, my bonny little ones?" she cried, kissing the two girls. "But there, I've no time to lose. The band will be here directly, and my brother is with the boys; and, Mrs Thorne, he sends his compliments to you." Mrs Thorne had drawn herself up very stiffly in her chair, and was preserving a dignified silence, feeling offended at their visitor's want of recognition; but Mr Burge's compliments taught her that this patron of the school acknowledged her status in society, and she smiled and bowed. "And he said that he hoped you would excuse his not calling to invite you himself, but--now, bless my heart, what was the rest of it?" She looked in a perplexed way at Hazel, and then at the ceiling, as if expecting to read it there. "Oh, I know--but he had been so busy over the preparations, and he hoped you would come and look on; and the pony carriage will be here to fetch you at twelve." "I'm sure--really--I am greatly obliged to Mr Burge--" "Mr William Forth Burge," said Miss Burge correctively. "To Mr William Forth Burge for his kindness, and of course I shall be most happy." Hazel's eyes had filled with tears at the quiet unassuming kindness of these people, and she looked her gratitude at their visitor. "My brother's in such spirits, my dear, and he's next door; and he said at breakfast that he was proud to say he came to Plumton Schools himself when he was a boy, and nobody should say he was too proud to march round the town with them to-day." "And--and is he going to walk in the procession. Miss Burge?" asked Mrs Thorne. "That he is, ma'am," said the little lady. "So I said to him at breakfast, `well, Bill,' I said--you see I always call him `Bill,' Mrs Thorne, though he has grown to be such a rich and great man. It seems more natural so--`well, Bill,' I said, `if with all your money and position you're not too proud to walk with the boys, I won't be too proud to walk with the girls.'" "And--and are you going to walk with them, Miss Burge?" said Mrs Thorne, with trembling eagerness. "That I am, ma'am," cried Miss Burge, rustling her voluminous blue silk dress, "and I've come down to ask Miss Thorne if she would allow me to walk with her, and--Oh, my gracious! How it did make me jump!" The cause of Miss Burge's start was the preliminary _boom boom, boom_ of Mrs Thorne's horror, the big drum, for the band had been marched up silently to the front of the schools, and the next moment the place was echoing with the brazen strains. CHAPTER TEN. MR CANNINGE ASSISTS.