married," Nannie said, kindly. "And anyway, you'll have to marry
me, David, 'cause Blair can't. He's my brother."

"He's only your half-brother," David pointed out.

"You can have Nannie," said Blair, "or you can stay out of the
play."

"Well, I'll marry Nannie," David said, sadly; and Blair proceeded
to elaborate the scheme. It was very simple: the money in Mrs.
Maitland's cash-box would pay their fare to--"Oh, anywhere,"
Blair said, then hesitated: "The only thing is, how'll we get
it?"

"I'll get it for you," Nannie said, shuddering.

"Wouldn't you be scared?" Blair asked doubtfully. Everybody knew
poor Nannie was a 'fraid-cat.

"Little people," somebody called from the parlor, "what are you
chattering about?"

The children looked at one another in a panic, but Blair called
back courageously, "Oh, nothing."

"Perhaps," said Mrs. Richie, smiling at Mr. Robert Ferguson, who
had dropped in to find Elizabeth--"perhaps you didn't know that
my conservatory was a Pirates' Cave?"

There was a sort of hesitant intimacy now between these two