"But there wouldn't be quite enough
room for them in here, would there, Mrs. Peter?"
"I am afraid not," she replied. "You see there's only one bed. But we've
made a nice place for you, master and missy, in here," and she drew back
a clean cotton curtain in one corner, behind which, on a sort of settle,
Peter and she had placed one of their mattresses so as to make a nice
shake-down. "You'll sleep very well in here, don't you think?"
"Oh yes," exclaimed the children, "us will be very comfortable. What
nice clean sheets!" continued Pamela; "it makes me fink of our white
beds at home," and her voice grew rather doleful, as if she were going
to cry.
"But you've no need to cry about your home _now_, missy dear," said Tim.
"You're on the way there."
"Yes, how silly I am!" said Pamela. "I fink I forgot. It's such a long
time ago since us slept in a nice clean bed with sheets. I wish it was
time to go to bed now."
"I think it would be a very good plan if you and master was to take a
little sleep. You must be tired getting up so early," suggested Mrs.
Peter, devoutly hoping they would agree to let themselves be quietly
stowed away behind the checked cotton curtain. For poor Mrs. Peter was
dreadfully afraid of the gipsies, and her motive in agreeing to befriend
Tim and the children was really far more the wish to save them from the
hands they had fallen among than any hope of reward.
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