"You write over again, the minute you've finished your tea, and tell her you're very much obliged, and accept like a good, grateful, little girl," he said. "That letter has got to get into the post to-night, and another to Miss Forester, asking her when she can have you, and your darling Molly might have a line also. Now, then, I'm ravenous. Oh, I say, cress and shrimps for tea!"
While Maurice had been making these rapid arrangements with regard to his own and Cecil's future, mysterious noises of a muffled character had been heard outside the door; the handle had been tried several times in vain, for Maurice had long ago taken the precaution to lock himself in with his sister. Now he abruptly turned the key.
"Come in, you fellows," he said; "grace first, and then fall to."
The three boys entered with a certain amount of demureness, but the sight of shrimps and water-cress was too much for their gravity. Cecil's face was very pale; she was feeling too excited to eat. The four boys rapidly cleared the board. When they had finished, Maurice looked at his sister and spoke.
"I have a bit of news for you, lads," he said.
"Oh, Maurice! perhaps we had better not tell them to-night," interrupted Cecil.
"Well, we did hear something through the keyhole," interrupted Jimmy, in a modest tone. "We took the keyhole turn about, so it was a little confusing. Perhaps you might as well finish, Maurice. I think I'm to go to a place called Redgarth, but I'm not quite sure."
"You shut up, you rascal!" said Maurice. "You know it's very dishonorable to listen through keyholes."
"Fudge!" said Jimmy; "we're all one family. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Now, am I to go to Redgarth? and where is Redgarth? and what am I to do when I get there? Is it a holiday resort, or a horrid place where they stuff you with books?"