Page:Quartette - Kipling (1885).djvu/54

 "Does she, dear? I've never seen her."

The exciting consciousness that he had seen something I had not, made Robbie sit straight up with very wide open eyes and begin energetically.

"I doesn't sleep like you, Muzzie. I'se often awake whole hours sometimes. All the dark gets white and then; I can't sleep."

"That's the moon, dear, didn't you know?"

"It isn't like the moon when I look at it out of my burf," answered Robbie, who was proud of this new word he had lately learnt.

"But it's only the moon; and if it frightens you, wake, mother."

"Then when it gets white I see the faiwy. I fink she's always there, but I can't always see her."

"Why don't you wake me then, dear?"

"I've twied, but you doesn't wake; you sings, but you doesn't wake!"

"Sing! Robbie! What can you mean?"

"Oh not like day singing, Muzzie," he explained; "but a sort of little singing, like a very happy cat."

"You dear little goose," I said, laughing, though I knew I ran the risk of offending Robbie by so doing; "when I snore like a 'happy cat' you may wake me; and now go to sleep at once."

Robbie made a valiant endeavour to keep awake, and succeeded for at least five minutes. Then the brown eyes closed, and I stole away, feeling more troubled about the strange little girl than I should have liked to acknowledge.

That night the moon rose at half-past twelve. I was waiting for "the dark to get white;" for I was resolved to find out if the little girl did come to my cabin at night. Robbie was peacefully sleeping in a way that made me doubt his statement that he lay awake "whole hours;" probably a dream had made him fancy he really saw the child.

It was a fine night, and the moon shone brightly through the port. The light was far too clear for me to be mistaken as to what I saw; and without my having heard the door open or any sound of footsteps, there, at the end of my berth, sat the mysterious child: her pretty round face looking pale in the moonlight. I started up and tried to catch her, for I wished to put a stop to these unwelcome visits; but the tiresome little one seemed to melt away from