'They're too precocious,' said Miss Hunter with tearful eyes, as she came down from the sick room one day; 'it is always the good precocious children that die young. Roland has just said, in his little weak, quavering voice, "Auntie, perhaps Olive and I are going to die and be put in a grave." And when I told him that wasn't likely, and he mustn't think of such things, he said in quite a cheerful tone, "Oh, well we shall come up at Easter, you know. If it isn't this Easter, it will be another one, and you'll have our graves to look after, like Mr. Bob. Jesus will take care of us till we come up, like Mr. Bob takes care of his lily pots." I don't half understand their talk.'
'I do,' said Miss Sibyl, with a wistful smile; 'and I believe they are going to get well, and give us more of faith's lessons to learn and understand.'
They did get well, though their recovery was somewhat slow; and Easter, late as it came that year, was close at hand before they were quite convalescent.
It was a lovely spring morning when, wrapped up in shawls, the two little invalids were brought out of the house to take their first airing.
Never as long as they lived would the children forget the scene before them! The budding trees, the singing of the birds, and the sweet scents that came to them were only part of the great surprise that awaited them. Golden sheets of daffodil and white narcissus bordered the dark evergreen shrubberies; edging the old lawn were clumps of violets and primroses. Hyacinths, tulips, and other bulbs were making the flower beds a mass of bright colour, and the lilac and laburnum trees seemed overweighted with their bloom.
Roland could hardly find voice to express his delight, but Olive trotted here and there, breaking out into happy peals of laughter.
'It's better than ever I thought! It's lovelier than India! It's all true, and Easter is here at last!'
Then, after their admiration had worked itself out, they implored to be taken down to the lodge.
'No, no,' said nurse; 'you have been out long enough You must get stronger before you can take that walk. Be good children and come indoors now.'
'When does Easter Sunday come?' asked Roland, as he and his sister were enjoying their basins of beef-tea at the nursery table shortly afterwards.