Peterkin   By: Mrs. Molesworth (1839-1921)

[Illustration: MAMMA . . . HUGGED HIM AS IF HE'D BEEN LOST FOR A YEAR.

[ Frontispiece. ]

PETERKIN

BY

MRS. MOLESWORTH

AUTHOR OF 'CARROTS,' 'CUCKOO CLOCK,' 'TELL ME A STORY'

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY H. R. MILLAR

=London= MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1902

All rights reserved

TO

"ALEX"

ALEXANDER DOBREE HERRIES

I DEDICATE THIS LITTLE STORY

155 SLOANE STREET, S.W. May Day 1902

CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

I. WHAT CAN HAVE BECOME OF HIM? 1

II. FOUND 19

III. AN INVITATION 34

IV. VERY MYSTERIOUS 50

V. 'STRATAGEMS' 69

VI. MARGARET 84

VII. THE GREAT PLAN 101

VIII. A TERRIBLE IDEA 118

IX. IN A FOG 135

X. BERYL 149

XI. DEAR MAMMA 165

XII. NO MYSTERY AFTER ALL 182

ILLUSTRATIONS

MAMMA . . . HUGGED HIM AS IF HE'D BEEN LOST FOR A YEAR Frontispiece

OUR MISSING PETERKIN To face page 13

NO SOONER DID HE CATCH SIGHT OF US TWO WITH HIS UGLY ROUND BEADY EYES . . . THAN HE SHUT UP " " 52

PETE HELD OUT HIS BROWN PAPER PARCEL. 'THIS IS THE POETRY BOOK,' HE SAID " " 97

WE HAD NO DIFFICULTY IN FINDING HER BATH CHAIR " " 108

HE LOOKED AT THE TICKETS . . . 'HOW'S THIS?' HE SAID " " 145

'NOW,' SHE BEGAN . . . DRAWING MARGARET TO HER, 'TELL ME ALL ABOUT IT' " " 159

THE FRILLS HAD WORKED UP ALL ROUND HIS FACE " " 173

PETERKIN

CHAPTER I

WHAT CAN HAVE BECOME OF HIM?

WE were all at tea in the nursery. All except him. The door burst open and James put his head in.

'If you please, Mrs. Brough,' he began, 'Mrs. Brough' is the servants' name for nurse. Mamma calls her 'Brough' sometimes, but we always call her 'nurse,' of course, 'If you please, Mrs. Brough, is Master Peterkin here?'

Nurse looked up, rather vexed. She doesn't like burstings in.

'Of course not, James,' she said. 'He is out driving with his mamma. You must have seen them start.'

'It's just that,' said James, in his silly way. 'It's his mamma that wants to know.'

And then we noticed that James's face was much redder than usual. It may have been partly that he had run upstairs very fast, for he is really very good natured, but it looked as if he was rather in a fuss, too.

Nurse sat very bolt up in her chair, and her face began to get queer, and her voice to get vexeder. Lots of people get cross when they are startled or frightened. I have noticed it.

'What do you mean, James? Please to explain,' she said.

'I can't stop,' he said, 'and I don't rightly understand, myself. His mamma sent Master Peterkin home before her, half an hour ago or more, but he hasn't come in, not as I've seen, nor nobody else, I'm afraid. So where he's got to, who can say?'

And James turned to go.

Nurse stopped him, getting up from her place as she spoke.

'Was he in the carriage?' she asked.

'Of course not. Beckett would have seen him in, all right, if he had been,' said James, in a very superior tone. 'He was to run home by himself a bit of a way, as I take it,' he added, as he hurried off at last.

'I must go downstairs to your mamma,' said nurse. 'Miss Blanchie, my dear, will you look after Miss Elvira, and see that she doesn't spill her tea?'