"
A loud, angry screaming from the direction of the lawn drew Mrs. Quabarl
thither in hot haste, fearful lest the threatened castigation might even
now be in process of infliction. The outcry, however, came principally
from the two small daughters of the lodge-keeper, who were being hauled
and pushed towards the house by the panting and dishevelled Claude and
Wilfrid, whose task was rendered even more arduous by the incessant, if
not very effectual, attacks of the captured maidens' small brother. The
governess, fives-bat in hand, sat negligently on the stone balustrade,
presiding over the scene with the cold impartiality of a Goddess of
Battles. A furious and repeated chorus of "I'll tell muvver" rose from
the lodge-children, but the lodge-mother, who was hard of hearing, was
for the moment immersed in the preoccupation of her washtub.
After an apprehensive glance in the direction of the lodge (the good
woman was gifted with the highly militant temper which is sometimes the
privilege of deafness) Mrs. Quabarl flew indignantly to the rescue of the
struggling captives.
"Wilfrid! Claude! Let those children go at once. Miss Hope, what on
earth is the meaning of this scene?"
"Early Roman history; the Sabine Women, don't you know? It's the Schartz-
Metterklume method to make children understand history by acting it
themselves; fixes it in their memory, you know. Of course, if, thanks to
your interference, your boys go through life thinking that the Sabine
women ultimately escaped, I really cannot be held responsible.
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