"He was only to arrive here yesterday or the day before," said Mrs. Marton.
"But the friends who were to have a nurse ready for the children? We should have had _some_ address."
"Yes," said Mrs. Marton self-reproachfully. "I wish I had thought of it. But Susan was so _sure_ all would be right. And certainly, in case of anything preventing Captain Bertram's coming, it was only natural to suppose he would have telegraphed, or sent some one else, or done _something_."
"Well--all things considered," said Mr. Marton, "it seems to me the best thing to do is to leave the children here, _even_ if we had a choice, which I must say I don't see! For I don't know how I could send them back to England, nor what their friends there might find to say if I did--nor can we----"
"Take them on to Marseilles with us?" interrupted Mrs. Marton. "Oh, Phillip, would not that be better?"
"And find that their father had just started for Paris?" replied her husband. "And then think of the expense. Here, they are much nearer at hand if they have to be fetched back to England."
Mrs. Marton was silent. Suddenly another idea struck her. She started up.
"Supposing Captain Bertram has come to the station since we left," she exclaimed. "He may be there now."
"No fear," he said "Every official in the place knows the whole story. I managed to explain it, and told them to send him over here."
"And what are you thinking of doing, then? _Where_ can we leave them?"
"That's just the point," he said. "We've only three hours unless we put off till the night express, and that is running it too fine. Any little detention and we might miss the boat."
"We've run it too fine already, I fear," said Mrs. Marton dolefully. "It's been my fault, Phillip--the wanting to stay in England till the last minute."
"It's Susan Lacy's fault, or Bertram's fault, or both our faults for being too good-natured," said Mr. Marton gloomily. "But that's not the question now. I don't think we _should_ put off going, for--another reason--it would leave us no time to look up Bertram at Marseilles. Only if we had had a few hours, I could have found some decent people to leave the children with here, some good 'pension,' or----"
"But such places are all so dear, and we have to consider the money too."