"I was just waiting for my china-rose to come out," said Caroline; "there is one bud on it, and you know I said Susan was to have the first rose, mamma."
If Caroline had looked at Herbert she would have been surprised to see his face become suddenly red; for the truth was, the rose-bud that Caroline had watched so carefully was hanging from the stem broken; and more than that, a great many flowers in her garden had been destroyed. It had happened in this way. Finding that his mamma had gone out, Herbert went into the garden with Neptune following closely at his heels. He had been forbidden to take the dog into the garden, but, trusting to Neptune's obedient disposition, he thought he could keep him on the walks. He did not expect to find a cat lying asleep under one of the garden-seats, else he would have acted differently; for Neptune had a terrible hatred to cats, and nothing could cure him of it. Therefore, when his eye fell upon the cat, he bounded off after it, and, regardless of the flowers, chased it right through Caroline's little border.
Herbert was very sorry, more so when he remembered how his sister had not told of his bad treatment during their walk by the river; but he was so afraid of his papa's displeasure, when it became known that he had taken the dog into the garden, that he made up his mind he would deny all knowledge of it. He was startled to hear his mamma telling Caroline it would be better to pull the rosebud now, as it would come out just as well in water, and last longer than if it were full-blown; so that if she liked to get it now, she might go with nurse, who was going to take some medicine to Susan's sick mother.
Caroline, who was always glad to pay a visit to blind Susan, went away at once into the garden, where she found Stephens the gardener leaning on his spade and rake, and gazing down in dismay at the broken and crushed flowers.
"O Stephens, who has done this?" said Caroline, almost ready to cry. "My beautiful rosebud broken, my poor flowers destroyed!"
THE BROKEN ROSEBUD.
Then Stephens told how he had seen Master Herbert walking about the garden with Neptune, and that, as he was at a distance, the flowers had been destroyed before he got up to the place. "But Master Herbert shall suffer for this," said Stephens; "I mean to tell his papa about it this very night."
Caroline knew well how severely Herbert would be punished, and her heart softened towards her brother. "Has Neptune done any harm to the other flowers?" she asked Stephens.
"No, miss," said Stephens; "for, do you see, the cat ran up that tree there, and got over the wall, and the dog kept dancing about among the flowers, trying to get his heavy body up after it."