There was a sort of smile of defiance, and he followed her. For a moment

she thought of preventing this, and preparing Fanny in private, but

recollecting that this would give him the opportunity of preparing

Hubert to support his falsehood, she let him enter with her, and sought

Lady Temple in the nursery.

"Dear Fanny, I am very sorry to bring you so much vexation. I am afraid

it will be a bitter grief to you, but it is only for Conrade's own sake

that I do it. It was a cruel thing to take a bird's-nest at all, but

worse when he knew that his Aunt Grace was particularly fond of it; and,

besides, he had promised not to touch it, and now, saddest of all, he

denies having done so."

"Oh, Conrade, Conrade!" cried Fanny, quite confounded, "You can't have

done like this!"

"So, I have not," said Conrade, coming up to her, as she held out her

hand, positively encouraging him, as Rachel thought, to persist in the

untruth.

"Listen, Fanny," said Rachel. "I do not wonder that you are unwilling to

believe anything so shocking, but I do not come without being only too

certain." And she gave the facts, to which Fanny listened with pale

cheeks and tearful eyes, then turned to the boy, whose hand she had held

all the time, and said, "Dear Con, do pray tell me if you did it."

"I did not," said Conrade, wrenching his hand away, and putting it

behind his back.

"Where's Hubert?" asked Rachel, looking round, and much vexed when she

perceived that Hubert had been within hearing all the time, though to

be sure there was some little hope to be founded upon the simplicity of

five years old.

"Come here, Hubert dear," said his mother; "don't be frightened, only

come and tell me where you and Con went yesterday, when the others were

playing at bowls." Hubert hung his head, and looked at his brother.

"Tell," quoth Conrade. "Never mind her, she's only a civilian."

"Where did you go, Hubert?"

"Con showed me the little birds in their nest."

"That is right, Hubert, good little boy. Did you or he touch the nest?"

"Yes." Then, as Conrade started, and looked fiercely at him, "Yes you

did, Con, you touched the inside to see what it was made of."

"But what did you do with it?" asked Rachel.

"Left it there, up in the tree," said the little boy.

"There, Rachel!" said the mother, triumphantly.

"I don't know what you mean," said Rachel, angrily, "only that Conrade

is a worse boy than I had thought him, end has been teaching his little

brother falsehood."

The angry voice set Hubert crying, and little Cyril, who was very

soft-hearted, joined in chorus, followed by the baby, who was conscious

of something very disagreeable going on in her nursery. Thereupon, after

the apparently most important business of comforting Miss Temple had

been gone through, the court of justice adjourned, Rachel opening the

door of Conrade's little room, and recommending solitary imprisonment

there till he should be brought to confession. She did not at all reckon

on his mother going in with him, and shutting the door after her. It was

not the popular notion of solitary confinement, and Rachel was obliged

to retire, and wait in the drawing-room for a quarter of an hour before

Fanny came down, and then it was to say-"Do you know, Rachel dear, I am convinced that it must be a mistake.

Conrade assures me he never touched the nest."




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