Councils are held in the straw-loft.
As soon as we were all there and the straw had stopped rustling after our sitting down, Dicky said:
"I hope it's nothing to do with the Wouldbegoods?"
"No," said Denny in a hurry: "quite the opposite."
"I hope it's nothing wrong," said Dora and Daisy together.
"It's—it's 'Hail to thee, blithe spirit—bird thou never wert,'" said Denny. "I mean, I think it's what is called a lark."
"You never know your luck. Go on, Dentist," said Dick.
"Well, then, do you know a book called The Daisy Chain?"
We didn't.
"It's by Miss Charlotte M. Yonge," Daisy interrupted, "and it's about a family of poor motherless children who tried so hard to be good, and they were confirmed, and had a bazaar, and went to church at the Minster, and one of them got married and wore black watered silk and silver ornaments. So her baby died, and then she was sorry she had not been a good mother to it. And—"