The Signor was startled into speaking the truth for once.
"Upon my word they are something quite out of the common," he said; "I
wouldn't have missed them for a good deal. What a king and queen of the
pigmies, or 'babes in the wood,' they'd make! I'll have to get something
set up on purpose for them. And they're sharp at learning and speak
plain you say?--at least he did," he added, turning round to look for
Mick, who by this time had lurched up to the middle door of the van and
was leaning on the lintel, looking in stupidly.
"Ay, they're sharp enough, and pretty spoken too," said Diana.
"Sharp and pretty spoken," echoed Mick.
"Then I'm your man," said the Signor; "I'll----"
But the girl interrupted him.
"There's one thing to be said," she began. "You must not think of
letting them be seen hereabouts. You might get yourself and us too into
trouble. It's too near where they come from."
The Signor held up his hands warningly.
"Hush," he said, "I don't want to know nothing of all that. They're two
desolate orphans, picked up by you out of charity, and I take them to
teach them a way of gaining a livelihood. That's all about it."
"Well, all the same, you can do nothing with them hereabouts," repeated
Diana, anxious to gain time to put into execution the plans of escape.
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