For his part, he was not in the least disturbed by the general embarrassment—the only one who was not.
He gazed up at Briggs with an expression of injured innocence.
"Are you cross, Briggs?" he asked. "Have I been naughty?"
"Have you been naughty, Master Chris?" she asked, with wrathful sarcasm. "Oh, no! there never was such a well-behaved young gentleman."
"Surely, Chris," I said, coming into the night-nursery, "you knew that you had no business to repeat to Dr. Saunders what Briggs said to me?"
He hung his head a little guiltily.
"I wanted him to 'member about the tonic," he replied; "and I did want to know what Briggs meant about his head coming off his shoulders. Wasn't I a good boy?"
He received his answer, however, from Granny, who returned at this moment, a bright spot glowing in each of her faded, pink cheeks.
"My Chris!" she said, "my darling! What foolish thought made you ask such questions?"
Chris wrinkled his brows. "I want to be a very good boy and please you," he said querulously, and with a tremble in his voice; "and now Briggs scolds me, and now you scold me, and now I'm very unhappy."