Dora explained this and Dicky said, 'Yes.' And H. O. said he was a
Generous Benefactor, like in Miss Edgeworth. Then Noel wanted to know
what a note of hand was, and Dicky knew that, because he had read it in
a book, and it was just a letter saying you will pay the money when you
can, and signed with your name.

'No inquiries!' said Alice. 'Oh--Dicky--do you think he would?'

'Yes, I think so,' said Dicky. 'I wonder Father doesn't go to this kind
gentleman. I've seen his name before on a circular in Father's study.'

'Perhaps he has.' said Dora.

But the rest of us were sure he hadn't, because, of course, if he had,
there would have been more money to buy nice things. Just then Pincher
jumped up and knocked over the painting-water. He is a very careless
dog. I wonder why painting-water is always such an ugly colour? Dora
ran for a duster to wipe it up, and H. O. dropped drops of the water on
his hands and said he had got the plague. So we played at the plague
for a bit, and I was an Arab physician with a bath-towel turban, and
cured the plague with magic acid-drops. After that it was time for
dinner, and after dinner we talked it all over and settled that we would
go and see the Generous Benefactor the very next day. But we thought
perhaps the G. B.--it is short for Generous Benefactor--would not like
it if there were so many of us. I have often noticed that it is the
worst of our being six--people think six a great many, when it's
children. That sentence looks wrong somehow. I mean they don't mind
six pairs of boots, or six pounds of apples, or six oranges, especially
in equations, but they seem to think you ought not to have five brothers