"All the more reason why you should stay at home and take care of me."
"Me want to be with you both," said Landry fretfully.
"But that can't be. The Government will send papers, and then Morland will have to go."
There was trouble in the boy's blue eyes; his poor dull brain seemed to be making a supreme effort to understand. He spoke again, still in the language of a little child.
"Landry will take the nasty papers and hide them, and then Morland stay at home."
"No, no, dear! Landry couldn't do that," laughed Claudia, fondling his hand. "You must be my good boy and look after me when he's gone."
Landry relapsed once more into his habitual silence, but it was evident that a new and unusual access of thought was stirring in his feeble mind. He kept looking at Morland with awakened interest. Lorraine, watching, wondered what was the result of his cogitations. His own sister and brother, accustomed to his moods, took no more notice of an occurrence that seemed trivial at the moment, but afterwards bore unexpected fruit.
"When we've made the cave so nice, it seems almost a pity to keep it quite to ourselves," suggested Morland after a pause.
"Why, but we all pledged ourselves to absolute secrecy!"