This time there was a distinct sound of suppressed laughter, and Hugh sat up.
“And the long-sighted man put on all the spectacles he could find in the garden and went to bed, because the five minutes were up, and he expected that a good long night, especially if he wore spectacles, would make him think of something in the morning.”
Daisy saw through this.
“Oh, mummy, you spoiled it all by laughing!” she said with deep reproach. “I know he wouldn’t have gone to bed quite at once.”
“More than five minutes, darlings,” said Lady Rye. “Say good night to Hugh.”
“And you’ll come and see us when you go down to dinner?”
“Yes, if you go at once.”
The two obedient little figures galloped off to the house, and Hugh dispossessed himself of the sand of the American desert and sat up.
“Dressing-time?” he asked.
“No, only dressing-bell,” said she. “I came to sit in the hay for five minutes. When did you get here?”