And the two small pairs of hands set to work carefully at their daily task. But they did not speak or ask Grandmamma any questions, and somehow the old lady felt a little uneasy, for, even though they were on the whole quiet children, this morning there was a sort of constraint about them which she did not understand. And they, on their side, felt glad when the "washing-up" was over and Grandmamma sent them upstairs to their nursery, where they had lessons every morning for two hours with a young girl whose mother had a sort of dame school in the village. CHAPTER III. QUEER VISITORS. "... they are what their birth And breeding suffer them to be-- Wild outcasts of society." _Gypsies_--WORDSWORTH. Miss Mitten, the young governess, had not yet come when the children got to the nursery, though all was in order for her--the table cleared, the three chairs set round it ready. There was nothing to do but to get out the books and slates. Duke went to the window and stood there staring out silently; Pamela, who always liked to be busy, dragged forward a chair, meaning to climb on to it so as to reach up to the high shelf where the lesson things were kept. But, as she drew out the chair, something that had been hidden from view in a corner near which stood a small side-table caught her eye. She let go the chair, stooping down to examine this something, and in a moment a cry escaped her. "Bruvver! oh, bruvver," she exclaimed, "just see! How can it have got brokened?" and she held up the bowl--or what had been the bowl rather--out of which Toby had gobbled up his unexpected breakfast,--broken, hopelessly broken, into several pieces! In an instant Duke was beside her, and together they set to work to examine the damage, as if, alas! any examining could have made it better. It was far past mending, for, besides the two or three large pieces Pamela had seized, there lay on the ground a mass of smaller fragments, down to mere crumbs of china. "_Toby_ couldn't have done it, could he?" said Pamela. "He stayed in here when us went down to prayers." "No, oh no! _Toby_ couldn't have broken it," said Duke; "and even if he had, it would not have been his fault. He didn't put it down on the floor. It was near here he ate the bread and milk up--perhaps he rolled the bowl behind the table." "And Biddy pushed the table against it when she was taking away the things. Yes, that must have been it," said Pamela. "Biddy couldn't have noticed there was only one bowl on the tray." "Anyway she didn't look for it," said Duke. "She is very careless; Nurse often says so." "But us can't put the blame on her," said Pamela. "Us _must_ tell, Duke." Duke had the pieces of china in his hand, and was carefully considering them. "Will Grandmamma be vexed, do you think, sister?" "Grandmamma doesn't like things being brokened," said Pamela. "And Nurse said one day these bowls was very good china."