Great Uncle Hoot-Toot

ff threw the reins on to the pony's neck and jumped out of the cart, with his carpet-bag. He was making his way i

said ill-naturedly. "May stand ti

he pony and put him up for the night. It was all so strange and new too; at Colethorne's he had watched the stablemen at their work, and thought it looked easy and amusing, but when it came to doing it, it seemed a very different thing, especially in the dusk, chilly evening, and feeling as he did both tired and hungry. He did his best, however, and the old pony was v

it sat the farmer, smoking a long clay pipe, which to Geoff

station," he said. "Will you

r looked

oo, I suppose? Your bag's not the pri

, and his tone wa

him again, and s

p a civil tongue in your head," he said.

Eames fortunately m

trange," she said. "Come with me,

said the bo

ort, flagged passage, and up a short stair. Then she opened a door, and, by the candle she held, Geoff saw a very small, very

"Master and me'll look in now and then to see that you keep it clean. Cupboard's hand

have a piece of bread? I'm rather hungr

ad your tea? I put it on the hob for you

former was coarse in flavour, and the latter butterless. But it was not the quality of the food that brought back again that dreadful choking in his throat, and made the salt tears drop into the bowl of tea. It was the thought of tea-time at home-the neat table, and Vicky's dear, important-looking little

he said, with a little hesitation at

ose so. You must turn out early-the milk

wake?" asked

ike others do. However, for the first

u. Good-n

rmer turned again to the

aired. I made Betsy see to

e overheard Eames grumbling at his wife as he left the room,

a nice finish up to it all. You know quite well--" But Geoff heard no mo

tumble into bed. It was very cold, but, as Mrs. Eames had said, quite dry. The chilly feeling woke him again, and he tried once more to say his prayers, and this time with better success. He was able to add a special petition that "mother" might soon be well again, and that dear Vicky might be happy. And then he fell asl

ll day. It's past half-past four. Jim-you lazy lout. I'll call mast

m-the coarse bed-clothes, the slightly mildewy smell of the pillo

ed it back the moonlight came faintly in-enough for him to distinguish the few objects in the room. He dared not attempt to wash, he was so afraid of being late. He managed to get out his oldest pair of trousers, and hurried on his clothes as

s Geoff hurried to the stable. "Betsy's filling the cans, and rare and cross she is at havi

round to the dairy door, where Betsy was filling the last of the cans. She was not so cross as she might have been, and Mrs. Eames had not yet app

ans to get to London. How little he or Vicky had thought, when they drank at breakfast the nice milk which Mrs. Tudor had always taken care to have of the best, of the labour and trouble involved in getting it there in time! And though he had hurried so, he was only just

T THE S

to E

in," he said crossly. "I'm not a-going to do this sort o'

He buttoned up his jacket, and wished he had put on his overcoat; and then he laughed rather bitterly to think how absurd he would look with this same overcoat, which had been new only a month before, dri

ious fragrance of coffee about which made his mouth water, but he did not even venture to go near the fi

aimed, "but you do look b

en he was in one of his ill-tempered moods that there was anything unlov

rather cold-and wet. I'm strange to it all, I suppose. I w

's wife. "He's gone down the fields with M

hook hi

the stable when I came

"there's a cup of coffee still hot, you can have for your breakfast this morning as you're so cold-it'

ut the bacon from the frying-pan as she spoke, and se

, and yet, had it been at home, how he would have grumbled! Coffee in a bowl, with brown sugar-bread cut as th

the improved aspect of the pig-sty when he had finished. He would have dearly liked to try a scrubbing of the piggies themselves, if he had not been afraid of Matthew's mocking him. But besides this there was not time. At eleven the second lot of milk had to be carted to the station, and wi

to do it. For a message had come from London that the cans were dirty and the milk in danger of turning sour, and that if it happened again Farmer Eames would have to send his milk elsewhere. It was natural perhaps that he should be angry, and yet, as no one had explained about it to Geoff, it seemed rather hard for him to have to take the scolding. Very hard indeed it seemed to him-to proud Geoff, who had never yet taken in good part

really known what hardships were, though

a have said ha