“Do with it!” repeated his sister. “Why, I should give it back to the person who lost it, of course.”
“But suppose you couldn’t find out who it belonged to, or suppose the people were dead.”
Pennie was tired of supposing.
“Oh! I should ask mother what to do,” she said, dismissing the question. “I can hear the band,” she suddenly added.
Ambrose gave a little sigh, as all the children quickened their footsteps at this welcome sound.
There was no advice to be got from Pennie. He must shake off the thought of his tiresome secret and enjoy himself as much as he could to-day. Afterwards there would be time to trouble about it. And now they were getting quite near to the tents and flags and gaily-painted caravans and confused noises of men and beasts. Nurse seized Dickie’s unwilling hand as they reached the turnstile which admitted them into the field.
“Keep close together, my dears,” she said anxiously. “You stay along with me, Miss Pennie, and Miss Nancy and Jane, you come after me with the other two.”
She looked distractedly at the little faces smiling with delight and eager to plunge into the pleasures of the fair. Since Dickie had once run away quite alone to go to the circus she had always been more nervous about the children.
“Jane,” she said sharply to the small nursery-maid, “what are you gaping at? Keep your wits about you, do.”
Jane, who had never been inside a fair before, was gazing open-mouthed at an enormous portrait of the “Living Skeleton.” She turned to Nurse with a face from which all expression had gone but one of intense surprise.