Page:The book of Betty Barber (IA bookofbettybarbe00andr).pdf/131

 “What happened to you?” said the Fraction.

Minora only groaned. Then she slowly opened her clenched fists, and showed a treasure in each hand—a piece of paper screwed into a tight ball, and a small box, a box of ointment.

“Number thirteen,” said the Fraction, “where did you get it?”

Lucy was examining the paper carefully. ‘Sums on one side,” she said, “and on the otherMinora, Minora, where did you get it? Thirteen-fourteenths, it is a page of the book.”

“All I could get!” groaned Minora.

Thirteen-fourteenths looked at the paper, then at Lucy, then at Minora. Then he folded up the sheet carefully, and put it away at the bottom of his pocket.

“Now, Minora,” said the Fraction, “pull yourself together and tell us about it. Where did you see Father William, and which way did he go?”

Minora sighed, and rubbed her arms and hands and sides.

“I don’t know anything about Father William,” she said, “but I do know an old gentleman who looks as old as old, and who can jump and run, and tumble, and get up again, and never mind it at all, as if he were as young as young.”

Thirteen-fourteenths and Lucy nodded at one another, as much as to say, “That’s Father William.”

Minora went on:

“I saw him sitting reading the book at the foot of this very sign-post,” said Minora, “and I asked him to give it to me. He wouldn’t. Then I tried to persuade him to give it to me. He wouldn’t. I tried to take it from him, and he ran away so fast I could scarcely keep up with him. Then, when at last I caught him, and tried to take it away, we had a regular scuffle, and I should have got it, only I caught my foot, tripped and tumbled over, and found myself in the ditch with this one page.”

“Did he say anything?” asked the Fraction. “Did he tell you why he wanted the book?”

“He never spoke a word until I lay in the ditch, and he was running away,” said Minora, “and then he threw this box back to 109