"And now jump up, boys, and come home." Sir Everard, as he spoke, picked up his cane, and taking his brother-in-law's arm, walked slowly on. "We shall have all these feats reproduced, Charlie, of that I am quite sure. Virginie has a nice time before her."
There was very little tea eaten that evening, the children were in such a hurry to get down again to the delectable anecdotes.
But Sir Everard took alarm at Miles's flushed cheeks and bright eyes, and would allow no more exciting stories so close upon bed-time.
"Will you finish about the crocodile to-morrow?" asked Humphrey, creeping up his uncle's leg, as he came to wish him good-night.
"Going to-morrow!" said Humphrey. "What a very short visit!"
"What a very short visit!" echoed Miles, who always thought it incumbent on him to say the same thing as his brother.
"I will pay you a longer visit next time," said Uncle Charlie, as he kissed the two little faces.
"But when will next time be?" persisted Humphrey.
"Yes! when will next time be?" repeated Miles.
"I have got so many plans in my head, that I think I shall burst," said Humphrey to Miles the next morning, as they stood on the door-steps, watching the dog-cart vanishing in the distance, on its way to the station, with their father and uncle. "Some of the things Uncle Charlie was telling us about would be quite easy for us to do. You wouldn't be afraid, I suppose, to climb up the big tree overhanging the pond where the water-lilies are?"
"No," said Miles, rather doubtfully, "not if you went on first and gave me your hand: but that tree is a long way off--wouldn't one of the trees in the orchard do?"
"Oh, no! it wouldn't be half the fun. Don't you remember the man in the story crawled along the branch that stretched over the water? Well, this tree has a branch hanging right over the pond; and I want to crawl along it, like he did."
"Hadn't we better ask Virginie if we may go all that way alone?" suggested Miles, in the vain hope of putting off the evil moment.
Humphrey, however, did not see the force of this argument, and so they started off.
It was a very hot day, and after they had got out of the farm-yard there was no shade at all.
Humphrey skipped through the meadows and over the gates, and Miles followed him as quickly as he could, but the sun was very hot on his head, and he soon got wearied and fell back.