Oscar.—"And what fun it will be to shoot them."
Felix.—"Yes! right and left shots."
Jenny.—"Oh, Master Felix, how pleased I should be to see you do that."
Hargrave.—"Nobody more so than hi, I make bold to say."
Madame turned from one to another in sad dismay, and then looked at me.
"Well! Madame, it is better they should all think thus than be as wretched as we were yesterday," returned I. "So let us make the best of it, hope the best, and ardently pray for it."
"I should like just to kill a few before they leave," said Gatty.
Mother.—"For what possible reason, my dear child?"
Gatty.—"Because, because, it will be then a real good downright adventure, and we shall be able——"
Here we were interrupted by a great noise. Every heart jumped into every mouth, at least mine did, so I suppose every other person's did. We flew to our hiding places. By and by there was a great smell of smoke. I telegraphed Schillie, and we crept from our corners, and went to the spy place. Oh sight of horror, what did we see but our beloved house, that matchless building, all in flames! Not being able to speak, Schillie shook her fists at them, until I thought she would shake them off. The dear little house, our pride and delight, built with such labour, inhabited with such pleasure, was fast consuming under the hands of these robbers. It seems that having guessed all our stores were there, and having made every effort to find us, and not succeeding, they had resorted to this method in the hope of forcing us to appear. But, such a base act only made us think much more badly of them, and we could hardly tell the news as we went sorrowfully back to the others.