But before he had concluded his sentence his weary little brother had settled himself again on his pillow.
"Miles! Miles!" whispered Humphrey in despair, stooping over him.
"Good night, Humphie," said Miles, sleepily.
"Why, you're going to sleep again," said Humphrey in his ear.
"Yes, you are!" exclaimed Humphrey, forgetting, in his excitement, that he was speaking out loud.
"No, I'm not," repeated Miles, trying to seem very wide-awake: but the fringed eyelids drooped over the heavy eyes, and he tried to keep them open in vain.
An ominous stir from the big bed prevented Humphrey from answering, and he watched Virginie nervously, as she rolled over from one side to the other.
Miles took advantage of the pause and fell asleep again directly.
"Wake up! wake up!" said Humphrey, returning to the charge.
"Nothing's the matter, but don't you remember our _delicious_ plan to get up early and pick mushrooms?"
Miles remembered now, but the plan did not seem so delicious now, somehow, as it had done the day before.
"Get up now, Humphie?" he said dejectedly.
"Yes," answered his energetic brother, "you won't mind it when we're once out in the fields. I'm going to dress you before I dress myself, so be quick and jump up. You'll feel all right when you're out of bed."
Little Miles looked half inclined to cry.
"You'll be better soon," said Humphrey, pulling off the bed-clothes.
"Let's go to-morrow instead, Humphie." Humphrey had turned round to get Miles's boots and stockings, and did not hear this last proposal. When he came back to the bed-side, to his horror, Miles had lain down again.
"What is to be done?" he exclaimed in despair. A sudden thought struck him, and he went quickly off to the other end of the room.
Miles was not quite asleep, and attracted by a clatter, he raised himself to see what his brother was about.
"What are you going to do, Humphie?" he exclaimed, as he saw Humphrey coming slowly across the room with a great jug of water in his arms.
"Why you see," said Humphrey in a loud whisper, and rather out of breath, for he was oppressed by the weight of the water jug, "the best way to wake people is to pour a jug of cold water suddenly on their face, and so----"
"Oh! I'm quite awake now, Humphie; indeed," interrupted Miles, getting out of bed in a great hurry, "you needn't, really. Look at my eyes." And in great trepidation the child opened his large blue eyes to their fullest extent.