Polynesia--"tired from her long journey of course but otherwise
all right. But what DO you think? That mischief-making sparrow,
Cheapside, insulted her as soon as she came into the garden. When
I arrived on the scene she was in tears and was all for turning
round and going straight back to Brazil to-night. I had the
hardest work persuading her to wait till you came. She's in the
study. I shut Cheapside in one of your book-cases and told him
I'd tell you exactly what had happened the moment you got home."

The Doctor frowned, then walked silently and quickly to the
study.

Here we found the candles lit; for the daylight was nearly gone.
Dab-Dab was standing on the floor mounting guard over one of the
glass-fronted book-cases in which Cheapside had been imprisoned.
The noisy little sparrow was still fluttering angrily behind the
glass when we came in.

In the centre of the big table, perched on the ink-stand, stood
the most beautiful bird I have ever seen. She had a deep
violet-colored breast, scarlet wings and a long, long sweeping
tail of gold. She was unimaginably beautiful but looked
dreadfully tired. Already she had her head under her wing; and
she swayed gently from side to side on top of the ink-stand like
a bird that has flown long and far.

"Sh!" said Dab-Dab. "Miranda is asleep. I've got this little imp
Cheapside in here. Listen, Doctor: for Heaven's sake send that
sparrow away before he does any more mischief. He's nothing but
a vulgar little nuisance. We've had a perfectly awful time trying