The Dwarf Woman 133

things she could tell them, Ju-Ju said ‘ Yes”
at once, and jumped down in a hurry, though
he was only thinking of the honey-cakes, and
Joan would have bustled after him if Bar-
thel, who felt himself the responsible person,
had not held her back. He whispered rather
gruffly that they were not allowed to go with
strangers, and besides, he had not learnt his
lessons. Joan was very much disappointed.

‘“Couldn’t we make haste and come back,
and then you could learn them afterwards ?”

“Yes, of course,” said Ju-Ju, with an
impatient jump. “J am going, I can tell
you!”

But when Barthel answered shortly, ‘ No,
we can’t,” Joan knew there was an end of it,
for she never really went against Barthel;
and the dwarf woman was very desirous not
to alarm the children.

“Never mind, never mind,” she _ said
hastily. ‘I shall be coming down the road
again in a day or two, and then perhaps you
will have done your lessons. If you were
only my children it would be very different.