And he had bounced down-stairs again before Ellen had time to scold
him for making riot enough to shake Alfred to pieces. He was a fine
tall stout boy, with the same large fully open blue eyes, high
colour, white teeth, and light curly hair, as his brother and sister,
but he was much more sunburnt. If you saw him with his coat off, he
looked as if he had red gloves and a red mask on, so much whiter was
his skin where it was covered; and he was very strong for his age,
and never had known what illness was. The brothers were very fond of
each other, but since Alfred had been laid up, they had often been a
great trial to each other--the one seemed as little able to live
without making a noise, as the other to endure the noise he made; and
the sight of Harold's activity and the sound of his feet and voice,
vexed the poor helpless sufferer more than they ought to have done,
or than they would had the healthy brother been less thoughtless in
the joy of his strength.

To-day, however, all was smooth. Alfred did not feel every tread of
those bounding limbs like a shock to his poor diseased frame; and he
only laughed as he unlocked the leathern bag, and dealt out the
letters, putting all those for the Lady Jane Selby, Miss Selby, and
the servants, into their own neat little leathern case with the
padlock, and sorting out the rest, with some hope there might be one
from Matilda, who was a very good one to write home. There was none
from her, but then there was none for Ragglesford, and that was
unexpected good luck. If the old housekeeper left in charge had been
wicked enough to get her newspaper that day, Alfred felt that in
Harold's place he should be sorely tempted to chuck it over the
hedge. Ellen looked as if he had talked of murdering her, and truly
such a breach of trust would have been a very grievous fault.