‘I aren’t going to stop here alone, not if it’s ever so,’ said Diamond Jubilee, stubbornly.
His three adopters looked at one another in dismay. What was to be done?
Suddenly a bright idea struck Micky.
‘Suppose I come back here to-night and sleep with him?’ he suggested.
‘That’s absurd, Micky!’ answered Emmeline. She felt terribly worried. ‘You would be found out. Both the doors make such a horrible noise when they are unbolted, and you can’t possibly go before the house is shut up for the night, because you know Aunt Grace always looks in the last thing before she goes to bed.’
‘I could jump out of the schoolroom window, as I did last time I had a naughty morning,’ rejoined Micky. ‘Naughty mornings’ were recognised institutions with him, sad to say.
‘But how would you get in again to-morrow morning?’ said Emmeline. ‘It wouldn’t do to wait till the doors were unbolted, because you must be back in bed before anyone is about.’
‘Oh, I shall swarm up the water-pipe, as I did the other day. I shall manage all right’; and his eyes sparkled with the delight of arranging a real adventure.
‘Well, I suppose that’s how it will have to be settled, as Diamond Jubilee is such a great baby,’ said Emmeline reluctantly. ‘Anyhow, we really must go home now, so you will just have to wait here patiently, Diamond Jubilee, till Micky can come back.’