Christopher has a fine old-fashioned idea of a host's duty to his guests. He stifled a yawn and slid from my knee.
"All right, Dorothy," he said. "What shall we play?"
Dorothy skipped like a young lamb. "Hide and Seek," she sang. "I'll go and hide. Don't look till I call."
She danced gaily and triumphantly out of the room.
Now I don't mind being snubbed and I certainly shouldn't trouble about a spot of a child who ought to have been kept in the nursery. Of course it's ridiculous even to begin explaining, isn't it? The thing's obvious. No, I felt that Dorothy should be taught a lesson; that is all. I thought it would be good for her.
"That settles Dorothy," I said deliberately. "Now we can go on reading."
"But she wants me to go and look for her," explained Christopher.
"Then let her want," I said shortly. "We can't always be—— Christopher, we'll have a game with Dorothy. We'll stop where we are and let her look for herself."
Christopher chuckled. "She'll be awfully angry," he said uncertainly.
"Good!" said I.