But Granny wasn't satisfied. She resolved to watch little Denis for herself.
He was looking graver than usual even, for the thought was heavy on his mind that with his brothers away the whole day, the dreaded gallery would be worse than ever. With Alex or Lambert at hand, he could often manage to make the journeys to and from the nursery in their company; but to-day he had no one to depend on but Nettie, and nurse did not like Nettie always roaming about with him. It would not do to get Nettie scolded for being so good to him. Poor Denis! He felt terribly deserted as he followed Nettie up-stairs, Prin at his feet.
'Dear Prin,' he whispered, 'I wish it was time for us to go back home where there's no picshur gallery to frighten us. Only then, dear Prin, you wouldn't be coming too, for your home is here, you know, dear Prin.'
Prin wagged his tail and looked up at Denis. It was all that he could do, poor little dog.
The day kept up fine and bright till towards two o'clock. The clouds began to gather in leaden masses, and the dull, gray-blue look one knows so well in winter, came over the sky.
'I'm afraid it's going to snow again,' said the children's mother, on their way home from the despised pond, where Linda and Nettie and some of the young ladies staying in the house had been amusing themselves by skating, and Denis had been allowed to slide, with Prince at his heels, of course.
'What a nuisance!' said one of the girls. 'All our skating will be over if it does, till the pond is cleared again. It is just nice now. And oh, by the bye, you will be uneasy about uncle and the boys if it snows'—for this young lady was a cousin of Linda's and the others—'won't you, aunt? Hatchetts is an awkward place to get away from in a snowstorm.'
Denis listened with all his ears, while his mother looked up anxiously at the sky.
'If it really comes on as bad as that, I hope they won't attempt to come home to-night,' she said.
'They might be losted in the snow, and we have no big dogs!' exclaimed Denis in great distress, as already a few flakes began to fall.