when miss ramsay repeated orion's words there was a dead silence for a full half minute in the schoolroom. had anyone noticed them, they might have observed philip and conrad turn very pale; but all eyes were directed to little orion, who was lying on the floor, pressing his hand to his stomach and moaning bitterly.
"i'm drefful sick," he said; "i wish i had not taken that horrid ginger-beer."
"but where did you get ginger-beer?" said miss ramsay, finding her voice at last. "get up this minute, orion, and come to me.
"really," continued the good lady to herself, "there must be something uncanny in those outlandish names; i don't think i can manage these children. orion is as bad as diana, and she is the greatest handful i ever came across.
"come here, orion," continued the governess, "and tell me what is the matter with your stomach."
"pain," answered the little boy, "crampy pain. it's the ginger-beer. i'm drefful sick; i can't do no more lessons."
"let me put him to bed," said diana; "let me go nurse him. i'll sit on his bed and talk to him. he is a very naughty boy, but i know how to manage him. come 'long, orion; come 'long wid sister di."
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she grasped the little boy firmly with one of her own stout little hands, and pulled him up on to his feet.
"diana, you are not to interfere," said miss ramsay. "come, orion; come and explain what is the matter."
"lollipops," moaned orion, "and ginger-beer. oh, i did like the lollipops, and i was so thirsty i thought i'd never leave off drinking ginger-beer."
"but where did you get lollipops and ginger-beer? mrs. dolman never allows the children to take such unwholesome things. what can you mean? where did you get them?"
to this question orion refused to make any reply. baby as he was, he had a confused sort of idea of honor. philip and conrad had told him that he was on no account whatever to mention the fact that they had gone away fishing on the previous afternoon, that they had visited a little shop and spent some of orion's own money. philip and conrad had no money of their own, but before he parted with the children, mr. delaney had given the two elder ones five shillings apiece, and the two younger ones half a crown, and orion's half-crown had seemed great wealth to philip and conrad, and had accordingly induced them to treat the little fellow with marked consideration. the whole of the money was now gone. how, orion had not the slightest idea. he only knew that his pockets were empty and that he felt very sick and very miserable.
he shut up his little lips now and raised his eyes, with a sort of scowl in their expression, to miss ramsay's face.
"where did you get the lollipops and ginger-beer?" repeated the governess.
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"that's my own business," said orion. "i'm drefful sick; i want to go to bed."
"you are a very naughty little boy," said miss ramsay.
"i think him a brick," whispered philip to conrad.
"hush, for goodness' sake!" whispered back conrad.
"i want to go to bed," repeated orion. "i'm drefful sick; i'm quite tired of telling you. i have got a headache and a pain in my tumtum." again he pressed his hand to his stomach and looked imploringly around him.
"what's all this fuss?" here burst from diana. "why can't orion go to bed? new teacher, you has a very queer way of managing sildrens. when we was at home we went to bed when we had pains. i can't underland you, not one little bit."
"come with me this moment, orion," said miss ramsay. "diana, if you speak a word except in the french tongue, you shall be kept in during all the afternoon."
orion and miss ramsay left the room, and the other children stared at one another. the three dolman girls sat down to their books. philip and conrad thought it best to follow their example. iris and apollo looked wistfully from one to the other, but did not dare to speak; but diana, walking boldly over to the nearest window, amused herself by touching each fly in turn with the tip of her small fat finger.
"they don't like it, poor darlin's," she said to herself, "but i don't mean to hurt 'em. i wonder now if i could get away to the wood and get hold of my bow and arrow. miss wamsay must be shotted as well as the others. it's awful what i has got to do."
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apollo sank dejectedly down before the account of the spanish armada, and iris, with tears slowly rising to her eyes, turned over her lesson books. at last the impulse to do something was more than she could stand, and, rising from her seat, she edged her way to the door. mary called after her in french to know what she was going to do, but iris would make no reply. she reached the door, opened it, and then ran as fast as she could to the nursery.
there she found simpson putting orion to bed. the little boy was crying bitterly.
"as soon as ever you lie down, master, you have got to drink off this medicine," said simpson.
"i won't touch it—horrid stuff!" said orion.
"but you must, sir. i'll allow no 'won'ts' in my nursery. little boys have got to do what they are told. if you make any fuss i'll just hold your nose and then you'll be obliged to open your mouth, and down the medicine will go. come, come, sir, none of those tears. you have been a very naughty little boy, and the pain is sent you as a punishment."
"oh, there you are, iris!" said orion. "oh, iris! i am so glad. please be a mother to me—please put your arms round me—please kiss me, iris."
iris flew to the little fellow, clasped him in her arms, and held his hot little forehead against her cheek.
"simpson," she said, turning to the nurse, "i know quite well how to manage him. won't you let me do it?"
"i am sure, miss iris, i'd be only too thankful," said the perplexed woman. "there's miss ramsay and my mistress in no end of a state, and master orion as obstinate as a boy can be. there's some
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thing gone wrong in this house since you four children arrived, and i really don't know how i am to stand it much longer. not that i have any special fault to find with you, miss iris, nor, indeed, for that matter, with master apollo; but it's the two younger ones. they are handfuls, and no mistake."
"i like being a handfu' 'cept when i'm sick," said orion. "i don't want to be a handfu' to-day. please, iris, don't mek me take that horrid medicine."
"he must take it, miss iris; he won't be better till he do," said the nurse, lifting up the glass as she spoke and stirring the contents with a spoon. "come, now, sir, be a brave boy. just open your mouth and get it down. then you'll drop asleep, and when you wake you will probably be quite well."
orion pressed his lips very tightly together.
"you'll take the medicine for me, orion?" said iris.
"no, i can't," he moaned.
"oh, but, darling! just try and think. remember you are a giant—a grand, great giant, with your girdle and your sword, and this medicine is just an enemy that you have got to conquer. here now; open your mouth and get it down. think of mother, orion. she would like you to take it."
orion still kept his mouth very firmly shut, but he opened his sweet, dark eyes and looked full at his sister.
"would mother really like it?" he said at last, in a whisper.
"of course; it would make her ever so happy."
"and will she know about it, iris?"
"i think she will. maybe she is in the room with us just now."
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"oh, lor'! what awful talk to say to the child," murmured simpson to herself.
"if i really thought mother could see, and if i really thought—" began the little boy.
"yes, yes, she can see!" said iris, going on her knees and clasping both the little fellow's hands in one of hers. "she can see, she does know, and she wants her own brave giant to be a giant to the end. now, here is the enemy; open your mouth, conquer it at one gulp."
"well, to be sure," whispered simpson.
orion, however, did not glance at simpson. he gazed solemnly round the room as if he really saw someone; then he fixed his brown eyes on his sister's face, then he opened his mouth very wide. she instantly took the cup and held it to the little lips. orion drained off the nauseous draught and lay back, panting, on his pillow.
"it was a big thing to conquer. i am a fine giant," he said, when he returned the empty cup to iris.
"yes, you are a splendid old chap," she replied.
at that moment mrs. dolman and miss ramsay entered the room.
"has orion taken his medicine?" said mrs. dolman. "iris, my dear, what are you doing here?"
"i am very sorry, aunt jane," replied iris, "but i had to come. he would never have taken his medicine but for me. i had to remind him—"
"to remind him of his duty. he certainly wanted to be reminded. so he has taken the medicine. i am glad of that; but all the same, iris, you did very wrong to leave the schoolroom."
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"please forgive me this one time, aunt jane."
"i really think iris does try to be a good child," interrupted miss ramsay.
"and she certainly can manage her little brother, ma'am," said simpson, speaking for the first time. "he would not touch his medicine for me—no, not for anything i could do; but he drank it off when miss iris talked some gibberish, all about giants and belts and swords."
"'tisn't gibberish," said orion, starting up from his pillow; "it's the truest thing in all the world. i am a giant, and i has got a belt and a sword. you can look up in the sky on starful nights and you can see me. 'tisn't gibberish."
"well, lie down now, child, and go to sleep. i am afraid he is a bit feverish, ma'am."
"no, that i aren't," said orion. "only i'm drefful sick," he added.
"listen to me, orion," said mrs. dolman, seating herself on the edge of the bed and gazing very sternly at the little fellow. "i intend to wring a confession out of you."
"what's to wring?" asked orion.
"i am going to get you to tell me where you got the lollipops and ginger-beer."
"i promised not to tell, and i aren't going to," answered orion.
"but you must. i insist."
"perhaps, aunt jane," said iris, "i could get him to tell. you see he is not accustomed to—not accustomed to——" her little face turned crimson.
"what do you mean, iris? do you object to the way i speak to this child?"
"mother never spoke to him like that," said iris.
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"and oh! it is so hot, and he is not well, and i think i can manage him. i may get him to tell me."
"yes, i'll tell you," said orion, "'cos you'll be faithful."
"well, really," said mrs. dolman, "i am absolutely perplexed. i suppose i must give in on this occasion, or that child will be really ill, and i by no means wish to have the expense of a doctor. miss ramsay, you and i had better leave that little pair together. you can remain with orion until dinner-time, iris."
"thank you very much indeed, aunt jane," replied iris.
that day at dinner iris looked very grave. orion was better, but was not present. mrs. dolman waited until the meal had come to an end, then she called the little girl to her side.
"now, my dear iris, what is all this mystery?" she asked.
"orion has told me all about it, aunt jane, but i don't think i'll tell. please don't ask me."
"my dear. i insist upon knowing."
"it was not his fault, aunt jane, and i am almost sure he will never do it again; he is very sorry indeed. i think he will try to be good in future."
mrs. dolman was about to reply angrily, when a sudden memory came over her. she recalled words her brother had used.
"i will give you the children," he had said, "but you must try to be gentle with them."
she looked at iris now, and did not speak for nearly a minute.
"very well," she said then; "you are a queer child, but i am inclined to trust you. only please under
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stand that if ever there is any misconduct in the future, i shall insist on knowing everything."
"i am greatly obliged to you, aunt jane. i could love you for being so kind. i will promise that orion never does anything of that sort again."
the children all filed out of the dining room. they had now, according to the rule of the day, to return to the schoolroom and lie down for an hour. this part of the daily programme was intensely distasteful to the little dolmans, and certainly the delaneys did not appreciate it a bit better, but at long last the wearisome lessons were over, and the little people were free.
the moment they got into the garden philip and conrad might have been seen scudding away as fast as their little feet could carry them. iris, however, had watched them disappearing.
"i want to speak to the boys," she said to ann.
"why?" asked ann.
"please ask them to come to me, ann; i have something most particular to say to them."
"i know what you mean," answered ann, turning crimson; "it was philip and conrad who got poor little orion into mischief. oh, iris! it was brave of you, and it was brave of orion not to tell. i wondered how you had the courage to defy mamma."
"i did not defy her," answered iris. "but please, ann, i must speak to the boys. send them to me at once."
"they are frightened, and are going to hide," said ann; "but i'll soon get them," she answered. "i know their ways."
after a minute or two she returned, leading philip and conrad by the hands.
"iris wants to talk to you," she said to them.
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"yes," said iris, "i want to say something to you by yourselves."
ann disappeared.
"i love iris," whispered little ann dolman to herself. "i think she is beautiful; and how brave she is! i wish i were like her."
"what do you want with us, iris?" asked philip, when he found himself alone with his cousin. he raised defiant eyes, and put on an ugly little scowl.
"i want to tell you, phil," said iris, "that i know everything. poor little orion would not confess, because you got him to promise not to tell; but, of course, he told me the truth. don't you think you behaved very badly indeed?"
"we don't want you to lecture us," said conrad.
"all right," replied iris with spirit. "but please remember that i promised orion i would not tell, only so long as you make me a promise that you will not tempt him again. if ever i hear that you have led orion into mischief, i will tell everything."
"i thought you looked like a tell-tale," said conrad.
"no, i am not, nor is orion; you know better, both of you. now, please understand that i will not have orion made miserable nor tempted to do naughty things. aunt jane thinks you are good boys, and she thinks diana and orion very bad little children; but neither orion nor diana would do the sort of thing you both did yesterday. neither of them would think of that sort of naughtiness. i call it mean."
iris walked away with her head in the air. the boys gazed after her with a queer sinking of heart.
