her two young brothers, both of whom had developed diphtheria within a
day or two of their arrival. The children's father was absent in India;
his only sister, upon whom the cares of his family were supposed to rest,
was entertaining Royalty, and was far too important a personage in the
social world to be spared at short notice. And so the whole burden had
devolved upon poor Mademoiselle Gautier, who had been near her wits' end
with anxiety, but had nobly grappled with her task.

The worst of the business, speaking in a physical sense, was now over.
Both her patients--Maxwell, who was Chris's twin, and little Noel, the
youngest of the family, aged twelve--had turned the corner and were
progressing towards convalescence. Over the latter she still had qualms
of uneasiness, but the elder boy was rapidly picking up his strength and
giving more trouble than he had ever given before in the process.

By inexorable decree Chris was kept away from the two over whom
Mademoiselle, aided by a convent nurse, still watched with unremitting
care; and it did seem a little hard in the opinion of the harassed
Frenchwoman that her one sound charge could not be trusted to conduct
herself with circumspection during her days of enforced solitude. Chris
Wyndham, however, had been a tomboy all her life, and she could scarcely
be expected to reform at such a juncture. She was not accustomed to
solitude, and her restless spirit chafed after distraction.

The conventions had never troubled her. Brought up as she had been with
three unruly boys, running wild with them during the whole of her
childhood, it was scarcely to be wondered at if her outlook on life was
more that of a boy than a girl. She had been in Mademoiselle Gautier's
charge during the past three years, but somehow that had not sobered her
very materially. She was spoilt by all except her aunt, who was wont to