Mrs. Byron promised, and accordingly the next morning George felt himself being shaken by the shoulder, while from the midst of a dream he heard his mother say,—
"Wake up, wake up! This is the third time that I have called you, and Mary is already here."
Up sprang George, all drowsiness put to flight. When he had dressed himself and finished his bowl of oatmeal, he joined Mary in the drawing-room with a tin box of sandwiches, and an apple in each pocket.
The visitor bore a small basket containing her contributions to the luncheon; and as she slipped off the sofa at George's entrance her pinafore and little sunbonnet rustled loudly in their starchy crispness.
Down the stairs hurried the pair, bent upon calling for Aladdin, the third member of their company.
As they reached the street, George was accosted by Bobby Black, who, with a group of neighboring boys, was emerging from his gate opposite.
"Come on, Byron, we're going to watch the cricket game in Murdoch's field!"
George shook his head decisively.
"I'm going somewhere else."