Page:The railway children (IA railwaychildren00nesb 1).pdf/102

 man's-buff, in the course of which Bobbie's forget-me-not wreath twisted itself crookedly over one of her ears and stayed there. Then when it was near bed-time and time to calm down, Mother had a lovely new story to read to them.

"You won't sit up late working, will you, Mother?" Bobbie asked as they said good night.

And Mother said, No, she wouldn't—she would only just write to Father and then go to bed.

But when Bobbie crept down a little later to bring up her presents, for she felt she really could not be separated from them all night,—Mother was not writing, but leaning her head on her arms and her arms on the table. I think it was rather good of Bobbie to slip quietly away, saying over and over, "She doesn't want me to know she's unhappy, and I won't know; I won't know." But it made a sad end to the birthday.

The very next morning Bobbie began to watch her opportunity to secretly get Peter's engine mended. And the opportunity came the very next afternoon.

Mother went by train to the nearest town to do shopping. When she went there, she always