The Captive
Kathleen and Bernard were, however, young enough to derive a certain pleasure from stroking the smooth, curved surface of the spades till Aunt Enid came fussing back with the tickets and told them to put their gloves on for goodness' sake and try not to look like street children.
I am sorry that the first thing you should hear about the children should be that they did not care about their Aunt Enid, but this was unfortunately the case. And if you think this was not nice of them I can only remind you that you do not know their Aunt Enid.
There was a short, sharp struggle with the porter, a flustered passage along the platform and the children were safe in the carriage marked "Reserved"—thrown into it, as it were, with all that small fry of luggage which I have just described. Then Aunt Enid fussed off again to exchange a few last home truths with the porter, and the children were left.
"We breathe again," said Mavis.
"Not yet we don't," said Francis, "there'll be some more fuss as soon as she comes back. I'd almost as soon not go to the sea as go with her."
"But you've never seen the sea," Mavis reminded him.
"I know," said Francis, morosely, "but look at all this—" he indicated the tangle of their possessions which littered seats and rack—"I do wish—"
He stopped, for a head appeared in the open doorway—in a round hat very like Aunt Enid's—but it was not Aunt Enid's. The face under the hat was a much younger, kinder one.
"I'm afraid this carriage is reserved," said the voice that belonged to the face.
"Yes," said Kathleen, "but there's lots of room if you like to come too."
"I don't know if the aunt we're with would like it," said the
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