When do you suppose they will be back?" asked Miss Chance.

Pamela explained that there was a strong tide, and a light wind, but they’d said they would be back by tea-time--meaning six o’clock and solid high tea, not the afternoon variety.

"How tiresome!" exclaimed the governess, "I do wish they would hurry."

"You can’t hurry sailing-boats," suggested Pamela patiently, as she went up the steps.

"I should have thought you could put up more sails, dear," said Miss Chance, who had spent none of her valuable time in mastering the intricacies of yachts and their habits, "it really is most annoying!"

"They don’t know anybody wants them back before ten. I believe they’ve gone up to Peterock; the tide served--Penberthy said so--besides Salterne is too far; they didn’t start till after lunch, you see, there was a lot to do at Crown Hill, Mollie couldn’t come before."

"Your mother wants a message taken to the station about the stores she expects to-morrow," said Miss Chance, as they walked along the terrace, "they may come to-night by the 9.20 from Salterne.  She wants them sent out specially at once, because there is too much, she thinks, for Timothy Batt; besides, his cart won’t go to the station again till Saturday."

"Did she want Addie to go?" asked Pamela, waking to the situation.  Then she continued quickly: "He won’t want to go after tea, Miss Chance, he’s arranged with Penberthy to do some painting on the yawl."

"He must put that off," said Miss Chance firmly.

"I’ll go to the station--now, before tea," was Pamela’s answer, "I cleaned my bicycle this morning.  It looks smart enough to go out calling even on the station-master at Five Trees."

She said this so gravely that Miss Chance was a little uncertain as to whether she herself was not being laughed at.  You could not quite be sure about Pamela, she was rather an inscrutable young person--tall and slim like her lovely mother, with a small face, a square chin, and firmly closing mouth.  She owned a distinguishing nose also, very delicately modelled and turning up the least bit in the world.  The family alluded to it as a "snub" at times, but there was nothing at all snubby about it, and it was full of character.  For the rest, she owned a plaited rope of hair that fell below her waist, brown with more than a hint of red in it.  

 Prev. P 4/404 next