'Don't speak back,' said Dora, hurriedly, under her breath, as she passed him to get her frame. 'It only makes him worse.'
After a few minutes' broken chat, which Daddy's mood made it difficult to keep up, David took his departure. Dora followed him downstairs.
'You're going to be away a fortnight,' she said, timidly.
As she spoke, she moved her head backwards and forwards against the wall, as though it ached, and she could not find a restful spot.
'Oh, we shall be back by then, never fear!' said David, cheerfully. He was growing more and more sorry for her.
'I should like to see foreign parts,' she said wistfully. 'Is there a beautiful church, a cathedral, in Paris? Oh, there are a great many in France, I know! I've heard the people at St. Damian's speak of them. I would like to see the services. But they can't be nicer than ours.'
David smiled.
'I'm afraid I can't tell you much about them, Miss Dora; they aren't in my line. Good-bye, and keep your heart up.'
He was going, but he turned back to say quickly—
'Why don't you let him go off for a bit of a tramp? It might quiet him.'