"Then good-night, papa."

"No, you need not bid me good-night yet," the captain said. "I shall see
you both in your rooms before you are asleep."

"Well, Lu, are you sorry now that papa made you come home so soon?" asked
Max, as they went up-stairs together.

"No, indeed! Haven't we had a nice time, Max? Oh, if only we could keep
papa all the time!"

"I wish we could," said Max. "But we won't have so hard a time as we've
had for the last two years whenever he was away."

They had reached the door of Lulu's room. "Max," she said, turning to him
as with a sudden thought, "what do you suppose papa is coming to our rooms
for?"

"What do _you_ suppose? have you done anything you ought to be punished
for?" asked Max, a little mischievously. "I thought you looked very cross
and rebellious about the hat and about having to come home so soon. I'm
very sure, from what I've heard of Grandpa Dinsmore's strictness, that if
you were his child you'd get a whipping for it."

Lulu looked frightened.

"But, Max, you don't think papa means to punish me for that, do you? He
has been so kind and pleasant since," she said, with a slight tremble in
her voice.