Page:The book of Betty Barber (IA bookofbettybarbe00andr).pdf/147

 But at that moment Father William, with his white hair standing up straight, his eyes almost staring out of his head, his hands thrown up in the air, came hurrying down the path.

As soon as he saw Lucy he threw himself down before her.

“Forgive me, forgive me,” he cried. “It is gone! Gone! Gone!”

“Not the book?” cried Thirteen-fourteenths.

“Don’t say the book is lost again,” said Lucy. “What shall we do? It seems to be bewitched.”

“I always thought it was,” said Minora. “I always said it was.”

“I must say I hope it is lost,” whispered Tare to Tret.

Father William sat down on the ground, and sobbed aloud.

“I went back to Nonsense Land,” he groaned, “and I found them all at the Grand Panjandrum’s Court. They had the book, the Grand Panjandrum himself had the book when I first got there,” and Father William burst out crying once more and could not get any further.

Lucy felt the tears rolling down her cheeks, and, indeed, every one of them felt sorry to see the poor old man in such trouble.

Half-term went to him and held out both hands.

“I say,” he said, “you cheer up; it’ll all come right in the end. That book seems to be always getting lost, but it always turns up again, and I believe it will turn up this time. Let me help you up, don’t sit there, sit under the tree.”

Father William stopped crying, and let Half-term help him up.

“Look, there’s an old bag full of something, sit on that,” said Half-term.

Father William gave a loud shout, and, instead of sitting on the bag, picked it up, hugged it tightly in his arms, and began jumping up and down.

“Dear me, what a queer old gentleman,” said Ellessdee.

“He always was queer,” whispered Minora.

“What is it, Father William?” asked Lucy, “do you know what is in the bag?”

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