Penelope and the Others | Page 7

white gloves.
The children were all in the hall watching the departure.
"Don't stay longer than you can help, mother," said Pennie; "it's horrid when you're away."
Mrs Hawthorne kissed them all and said good-bye. She hoped they would be quite obedient to Miss Grey while she was away, and Ambrose thought she looked specially at him as she spoke. He flushed a little as he joined with the others in promising to remember this.
"Now, then," said the vicar coming out of his study, "are we ready? Where's Dickie?"
Dickie came steadily down-stairs just then, step by step, rather encumbered in her movements by a large Noah's ark, which she clutched to her breast. She was calmly triumphant. Nurse followed her, still suggesting all manner of other toys as more convenient to carry--"a pretty doll now"--but Dickie was firm. The Noah's ark was her last birthday present; she must and would take it to Nearminster, and moreover she would carry it down-stairs herself. So it had to go; but the moment she was lifted with it into the waggonette she pulled out the sliding lid in the roof to find the efilant, as she called it, and most of the animals tumbled out. This made it necessary for all the children to throw themselves into the carriage to pick them up, so that there was a good deal of delay in starting. At last, however, all was really settled, and they drove off, Ambrose and David rushing on in front, as usual, to open the gate and scream out the last good-byes.
"Remember to be good boys," said their mother, leaning towards them as she passed; and again Ambrose felt as though she were speaking specially to him. He was not going to be a good boy. That he knew, but he would not think about it. It was pleasanter to fix his thoughts on all the advantages to be gained if David would only agree to his proposal, and make no awkward objections. He would tell him that very evening after tea, when they were going to fix a new shelf in the museum. Both the boys had been taught the use of saw and plane by the village carpenter, and were quite used to doing odd jobs for themselves. David in particular excelled in anything requiring neatness of finish, and took great pride in the fittings of the museum, which he was continually adding to and altering. The shelves were made of any bits of wood the boys had been able to get, so that at present they were all of different colours, and did not please him. He had it in his mind to ask Andrew for some white paint, with which he could produce a very superior effect, and indeed he was far more engrossed just now with the fittings of the museum than with objects to be put into it.
Armed with a large hammer, which he wielded with great skill and determination for so small a boy, he set to work in the museum directly after tea. Ambrose looked on listlessly. How should he introduce the subject with which his mind was full? There was certainly no room for it just now between the energetic blows which David was dealing, as he fastened up the new shelf into its place. At last he stopped and fell back a little to look at his work.
"Is that straight?" he asked.
"It's straight enough," answered Ambrose moodily, "but I don't see much good in putting it up."
David turned round with a face of wonder. "We must have shelves," he said.
"But we haven't got anything to put on them," replied Ambrose. "It looks silly to have them all empty."
David looked rather mournful.
"Of course they'd be much better full," he agreed; "but what can we do? How can we get things?"
"Isn't it a pity," said Ambrose, "that we couldn't ask father to take us to Rumborough? We could find enough there to fill the museum easily in half an hour."
David nodded and sighed.
"Why shouldn't we go alone?" said Ambrose, making a bold plunge. "I know the way." He looked full at his brother.
David did not seem at all startled. He merely said, as he put his hammer into the tool-box--"Miss Grey wouldn't let us."
"But," continued Ambrose, feeling it easier now that he had begun, "suppose we didn't ask her?"
David's attention was at last stirred. He turned his blue eyes gravely towards Ambrose.
"Father and mother wouldn't like that," he said.
Ambrose was quite ready for this objection. "Well," he said, "we don't know whether they would or not, because we can't ask them now."
"They wouldn't," repeated David decidedly.
"Mother would like the museum to be full," continued Ambrose; "we know that. And we can't get things anywhere else. She never said we were not to go to Rumborough alone."
David