"And you are glad!" Mrs. Mickle exclaimed as she noticed the gratified expression on his face.
"Well, I suppose I am really. Here they come tumbling up the stairs!"
The next moment the door was flung open, and Tom, followed by his sisters, hurried into the room.
"Two goals and a try to nil!" shouted the former. "I say, Gilbert, old boy, I wish you'd been there to see us lick them!"
"Oh, mother! Oh, Gilbert!" cried Dora, "'Haresdown House' is let!"
"Yes, or we suppose so; at any rate, the board has been taken down," Dinah hastened to explain.
"It is let," Gilbert said calmly, smiling in a superior manner at his sisters' excitement; "it has been taken by an elderly gentleman called Bailey. The house belonged to his father many years ago, and he had a fancy to purchase it. Mr. Bailey has lately returned from Australia."
"Where did you get your information?" Mrs. Mickle inquired.
"From Grylls, the chemist. Mr. Bailey's lodging at his house. You know, Grylls has lived in Wreyford all his life, so he knew Mr. Bailey before he went to Australia as a boy. Grylls says he shouldn't be surprised to hear he has made a big fortune, for when he found out 'Haresdown House' was to be sold or let he bought it at once. He has been in Wreyford for the last week with a little girl—a niece of his. I wonder you haven't noticed him about the place—a big man, with a jolly-looking red face."
"Oh!" cried Dora, "I believe I met him in the street yesterday, and the little girl too. I saw they were strangers. She was all in black, and—why, how extraordinary! Mother! Dinah! Boys! There they are!"