"And if we want you in a great hurry?" asked Christina.
"We'll have a fourth flag," asserted Puggy; "it must be blue, and it will mean a call to arms. You'll have to make the flags, Tina, and they must be ready to-morrow."
"But where shall I get the stuff? I shall ask Nurse to help me. Oh, I think I shall like this game very much!"
The little girl's eyes shone with excitement.
"And now let us light the fire," suggested Dawn.
"What lovely things we can cook! Toffee and toast and roasted chestnuts. We'll give parties sometimes, and dad and Miss Bertha shall come!"
It was the beginning of a delightful time to Christina. Never in all her life had she had such freedom.
From being confined to the four walls of her nursery, she now had the run of the whole house and grounds. Nurse rarely saw her except at meal times and for occasional walks. Puggy was considered quite old enough to take her off with him anywhere.
"I want her to be more independent," said her stepmother.
And Christina began to feel that her stepmother's reign was on the whole a pleasant one.