“Tell me what you’re going to do,” I said. But she said “No;” and there was a good reason why not. So I said I wouldn’t promise if it came to that. Of course I meant to all right. But it did seem mean of her not to tell me.
So Alice went out by the side door while Eliza was setting tea, and she was a long time gone; she was not in to tea. When Eliza asked Oswald where she was he said he did not know, but perhaps she was tidying her corner drawer. Girls often do this, and it takes a long time. Noël coughed a good bit after tea, and asked for Alice. Oswald told him she was doing something and it was a secret. Oswald did not tell any lies even to save his sister. When Alice came back she was very quiet, but she whispered to Oswald that it was all right. When it was rather late Eliza said she was going out to post a letter. This always takes her an hour, because she will go to the post-office across the Heath instead of the pillar-box, because once a boy dropped fusees in our pillar-box and burnt the letters. It was not any of us; Eliza told us about it. And when there was a knock at the door a long time after we thought it was Eliza come back, and that she had forgotten the backdoor key. We made H. O. go down to open the door, because it is his place to run about: his legs are younger than ours. And we heard boots on the stairs besides H. O.’s, and we listened spellbound till the door opened, and it was Albert’s uncle. He looked very tired.
“I am glad you’ve come,” Oswald said. “Alice began to think Noël—”
Alice stopped me, and her face was very red, her nose was shiny too, with having cried so much before tea.
She said, “I only said I thought Noël ought to have the doctor. Don’t you think he ought?” She got hold of Albert’s uncle and held on to him.
“Let’s have a look at you, young man,” said Albert’s uncle, and he sat down on the edge of the bed. It is a rather shaky bed, the bar that keeps it steady underneath got broken when we were playing burglars last winter. It was our crowbar. He began to feel Noël’s pulse, and went on talking.
“It was revealed to the Arab physician as he made merry in his tents on the wild plains of Hastings that the Presence had a cold in its head. So he immediately seated himself on the magic carpet, and bade it bear him hither, only pausing in the flight to purchase a few sweetmeats in the bazaar.”
He pulled out a jolly lot of chocolate and some butterscotch, and grapes for Noël. When we had all said thank you, he went on.
“The physician’s are the words of wisdom: it’s high time this kid was asleep. I have spoken. Ye have my leave to depart.”
So we bunked, and Dora and Albert’s uncle made Noël comfortable for the night.
Then they came to the nursery which we had gone down to, and he sat down in the Guy Fawkes chair and said, “Now then.”
Alice said, “You may tell them what I did. I daresay they’ll all be in a wax, but I don’t care.”
“I think you were very wise,” said Albert’s uncle, pulling her close to him to sit on his knee. “I am very glad you telegraphed.”
So then Oswald understood what Alice’s secret was. She had gone out and sent a telegram to Albert’s uncle at Hastings. But Oswald thought she might have told him. Afterwards she told me what she had put in the telegram. It was, “Come home. We have given Noël a cold, and I think we are killing him.” With the address it came to tenpence-halfpenny.
Then Albert’s uncle began to ask questions, and it all came out, how Dicky had tried to catch the cold, but the cold had gone to Noël instead, and about the medicines and all. Albert’s uncle looked very serious.
“Look here,” he said, “You’re old enough not to play the fool like this. Health is the best thing you’ve got; you ought to know better than to risk it. You might have killed your little brother with your precious medicines. You’ve had a lucky escape, certainly. But poor Noël!”
“Oh, do you think he’s going to die?” Alice asked that, and she was crying again.
“No, no,” said Albert’s uncle; “but look here. Do you see how silly you’ve been? And I thought you promised your Father—” And then he gave us a long talking to. He can make you feel most awfully small. At last he stopped, and we said we were very sorry, and he said, “You know I promised to take you all to the pantomime?”
So we said, “Yes,” and knew but too well that now he wasn’t going to. Then he went on—
“Well, I will take you if you like, or I will take Noël to the sea for a week to cure his cold. Which is it to be?”
Of course he knew we should say, “Take Noël” and we did; but Dicky told me afterwards he thought it was hard on H. O.
Albert’s uncle stayed till Eliza came in, and then he said good night in a way that showed us that all was forgiven and forgotten.
And we went to bed. It must have been the middle of the night when Oswald woke up suddenly, and there was Alice
