to ask them; they were big fellows now, with their eyes about them. He
found them under the floor of the barn; they had crept in as far as
they could, hiding away invisibly, but betraying themselves by an
anxious whispering. Out they crept now like two sinners.

The fact of the matter was that Eleseus had found a stump of coloured
pencil the engineer had left behind, and started to run after him and
give it back, but the big men with their long strides were already far
up in the forest. Eleseus stopped. The idea occurred to him that he
might keep the pencil--if only he could! He hunted out little Sivert,
so that they might at least be two to share the guilt, and the pair of
them had crept in under the floor with their find. Oh, that stump of
pencil--it was an event in their lives, a wonder! They found shavings
and covered them all over with signs; the pencil, they discovered,
made blue marks with one end and red with the other, and they took
it in turns to use. When their father called out so loudly and
insistently, Eleseus whispered: "They've come back for the pencil!"
All their joy was dashed in a moment, swept out of their minds at a
touch, and their little hearts began beating and thumping terribly.
The brothers crept forth. Eleseus held out the pencil at arm's length;
here it was, they had not broken it; only wished they had never seen
the thing.

No engineer was to be seen. Their hearts settled to a quieter beat; it
was heavenly to be rid of that dreadful tension.

"There was a woman here yesterday," said their father.

"Yes."