The Sea of Adventure Read Online Free PDF

worst the first two or three days and after that it's not so bad. There — are your pillows comfy? I'll send Bill in now."
     
    The news was broken to the others. The children were sorry and dismayed. Did grown-ups actually get measles then? Poor Mother? Poor Aunt Allie! She would certainly want them out of the house now.
     
    "She's ready to see you, Bill," said Dinah. "I say — I suppose you've had measles all right, haven't you?"
     
    "Oh dozens of times," said Bill cheerfully, going to Mrs. Mannering's room. "Cheer up — we'll get things right in no time!"
     
    "But you can only have measles once," began Lucy-Ann. Then the door was shut, and the children could hear only a murmur of voices in their mother's room.
     
    They went down to breakfast. The boys had more or less got back their ordinary appetites, but the girls still only picked at their food. Dinah looked at Lucy-Ann.
     
    "Your freckles hardly show," she said. "Nor do Jack's. A bit of sun will do us all good. I don't feel like this bacon, do you? Oh dear — I wish Bill would hurry up and come clown. I do want to know what they've decided."
     
    Bill did not come down. The children heard the door above opening, and then a soft whistle. Bill was evidently afraid the daily was about. But she had gone out to do the shopping.
     
    "It's all right," called Dinah. "Hilda's out. Come down if you want to. We've saved you some breakfast."
     
    Bill came down. "Your mother doesn't want any breakfast except toast and tea," he said. "You make the toast, Dinah. I see the kettle's boiling — we can make the tea as soon as the toast is ready. Then I'm going to ring up the doctor, and then ring up Miss Tremayne, your mother's friend, and ask her to come along for a week or two to be with the invalid. She says she'll like that."
     
    The children listened in silence. "And what about us?" asked Jack at last. "Didn't you decide?"
     
    "Yes, I decided," said Bill. "Your aunt begged me to take you away for two weeks — and I told her I was due to disappear for a while, so I'd go off to the northern seas with you. I didn't scare her with my reasons for disappearing — she's really feeling bad this morning — and she's so thankful to think you'll get away for a change that she hardly asked me any questions at all."
     
    "So we're to go?" said Jack, unable to keep the joy out of his voice, even though he was very sorry about Aunt Allie. "How absolutely super!"
     
    The four faces glowed. Kiki picked a piece of rind out of the marmalade and, as nobody said anything, took a piece of lump sugar from the sugar-basin.
     
    "Mother will be quite all right, won't she, with Miss Tremayne?" said Philip earnestly. "She wouldn't like one of us to stay with her, would she? I'll stay, if so."
     
    "She would be much better with you all out of the house," said Bill, helping himself to bacon. "She's tired out and wants a really peaceful time. Measles is beastly, but at least it will make her rest in bed for a while!"
     
    "Well, then, we can really look forward to going off with a light heart," said Jack cheerfully. "Oh, Bill — you always turn up just exactly at the right moment!"
     
    "Here's Hilda!" said Philip suddenly. "You'd better hop upstairs, Bill. Take your plate. I'll bring you more toast and tea when we take Mother's up. Isn't that toast finished yet, Dinah?"
     
    "Just," said Dinah, and put the last piece in the toast-rack. "No, Kiki, leave it alone. Oh, Jack, look at Kiki's beak — just dripping with marmalade. There won't be any left for us. Greedy bird!"
     
    Bill disappeared upstairs. Hilda went into the kitchen and began to fill up the kitchen stove. Dinah went out to tell her about Mrs. Mannering having the measles. Hilda was most sympathetic, but looked very worried.
     
    "Well, I daresay I can manage," she said, "but what with all you children here too . . ."
     
    "Oh, but we shan't be," said Dinah. "We're going off on a bird-expedition, as soon as we can — and Miss