It took them
twenty minutes, Mrs. Arlington striding ahead and the twins panting
breathless behind her. Mr. Arlington had not yet returned. He came
in five minutes afterwards, and Mrs. Arlington told him what she
thought of him. It was the shortest supper within the twins'
recollection. They found themselves in bed ten minutes in advance
of the record. They could hear their mother's voice from the
kitchen. A jug of milk had been overlooked and had gone sour. She
had given Jane a week's notice before the clock struck ten.
It was from Mr. Arlington that the Professor heard the news. Mr.
Arlington could not stop an instant, dinner being at twelve sharp
and it wanting but ten minutes to; but seems to have yielded to
temptation. The breakfast hour at the Manor Farm was now six a.m.,
had been so since Thursday; the whole family fully dressed and Mrs.
Arlington presiding. If the Professor did not believe it he could
come round any morning and see for himself. The Professor appears
to have taken Mr. Arlington's word for it. By six-thirty everybody
at their job and Mrs. Arlington at hers, consisting chiefly of
seeing to it for the rest of the day that everybody was. Lights out
at ten and everybody in bed; most of them only too glad to be there.
"Quite right; keeps us all up to the mark," was Mr.
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