He remained for some minutes in an attitude of deep thought.
"I know!" he exclaimed suddenly; "I always say a grace before my meals, and of course you'll have some breakfast presently, so you can say my grace after me. It's very difficult for you, of course; but still, if I say it very slowly, you can manage to do it. Now listen very attentively: 'For what I am going to receive, may the Lord make me truly thankful.'"
Miles knelt down and repeated the little prayer, and then the two little brothers sat down on the grass, and counted their mushrooms, to see how' many there would be for the wild men apiece.
Meanwhile Virginie, awakened by the rush of cold air caused by the open door, sat up in bed and looked about her.
The two little nightgowns on the floor and the jug of water in the middle of the room, first attracted her attention; but the room being partially dark, she did not perceive that the children had disappeared. She got up and opened the shutters, and then stood staring at the empty beds, the sheets and blankets scattered in all directions. And then she advanced hurriedly to Humphrey's bed, to see if the children were hidden beneath it. She looked also under the wardrobe, behind the curtains, in the toy cupboard. But her astonishment changed to alarm when she found their clothes were missing, and she ran into the day-nursery, and hung over the stairs shouting, "M. Humphrey! M. Miles!"
Not being dressed, she could not go down, so she rang the bell violently, and began to put on her things as quickly as she could.
The housemaid who answered the bell could give no account of the young gentlemen, but volunteered to search the house for them.
While she was absent Virginie's eyes fell on Miles's flannel shirt, and she wrung her hands in despair.