"I want you to be brave, old chap," he said slowly. Something in his tone made her start and scan his tired face.
"What is it?" she asked.
"It may be all right," Jim said, "but—but I thought I'd better tell you, Norah, they—we can't find Dad!"
CHAPTER XVIII
BROTHER AND SISTER
We were mates together,
And I shall not forget.
W. H. OGILVIE.
Jim had not wanted to tell Norah. It had been Brownie who had counselled differently.
"I think she's got enough to bear," the boy had said, sitting on the edge of the kitchen table, and flicking his boots mechanically with his whip. He had been riding hard almost all day, but anxiety, not fatigue, had put the lines into his face. "What's the good of giving her any more?"
"I do believe it'd be best for her, the poor lamb!" Brownie had said. "She's there all day, not speaking—it'll wear her out. An' you know, Master Jim, dear, she'd never forgive us for keepin' anything back from her about the master."