"Oh, there you are quite wrong, Bob," said Mrs. Orban. "If Dorothy is a witch, Jack is a wizard, and he will magic us all back again in a year and a day at latest."
"Well, I simply can't believe it," said Nesta.
"It's the queerest thing I have ever heard," said Eustace.
But Peter set up such yells of delight he had to be repressed by the early-to-bed threat—always a useful one when Peter became rampageous, for he hated going to bed at any time.
That evening no one could talk of anything but this trip to England. No matter what subject was started, everything harked back to this wonderful plan, which Mr. Orban had been thinking out for some time, only confiding in his wife and Miss Chase as long as the matter was undecided. Bob kept up the appearance of being utterly woebegone, and Nesta and Peter seemed to have turned into machines for asking questions.
Of the party only Eustace was silent, and presently Nesta noticed the fact.
"Aren't you most awfully glad?" she asked.
"I don't know," said Eustace slowly.
"Goodness!" said Nesta in a bustling tone, "you've always said you wanted to go."
"That was when I knew we couldn't," replied Eustace, scarcely thinking what he was saying.