“Oh the pretty dears,” exclaimed one of the two women, while the other turned away with a rough laugh, muttering something the children could not distinguish the meaning of.  “Oh the pretty dears!  Like two sweet birds up in a nest.  And wouldn’t you like your fortunes told, my honeys?”

“I don’t know what that means,” replied Duke, feeling very valiant at the top of the wall.  “I want to know if you’ve got any china bowls to sell—­bowls for bread and milk, with little blue leaves running over them.”

“To be sure, to be sure,” said the man.  “We’ve the very thing—­it is strange, to be sure, that I should have just what the little master wants, isn’t it?” he went on, turning to the woman.

“If the gentleman and lady could come down and look at them, they would see better,” said she, seizing the panniers with a great show of getting out the crockery they contained.

“Us can’t come down there,” said Duke.  “You must come in at the gate, and us will meet you at the back door.”

The man and woman hesitated.

“Will the servants let us come so far, d’ye think?” asked the man.  “Are there no dogs about?  Must we say the little master and missy told us to come for that they want to buy a bowl?”

“Oh no,” cried Pamela hastily, “that wouldn’t do.  The servants mustn’t know.”

The man glanced at the woman with a meaning look.

“To be sure, to be sure,” she said.  “Master and missy must please themselves.  It’s no business of the servants.  Perhaps it’s for a little present to their mamma they want one of our pretty bowls?”

“Us hasn’t any mamma,” said Duke, “and it isn’t for a present, but still us doesn’t want any one to know.  Are you sure you’ve got any bowls just like ours?”

“Certain sure,” said the woman; “you see we’ve such a many—­if I was to get them all out you’d see.  Yours is blue—­with leaves all over it—­we’ve some, sweet and pretty, with pink roses and green leaves.”

“No, no,” said the children, shaking their heads, “that wouldn’t do.  It must be just the same.”

“And have you got it there, then?” asked the woman.  “But that won’t matter.  You’ll soon see what beauties ours are.  And so cheap!  Not to everybody of course as cheap as to you, but it isn’t often we see so pretty spoken a little gentleman and lady as you.  And you shall have them as cheap as we can give them.”

“Then us must get our money-box,” said Duke.  “It’s in the nursery cupboard.  Will you go round to near the back gate,” and he pointed in the direction he named, “and sister will go through the garden to meet you, and I’ll run in for our money-box.”

The man peered about him, and again a sort of meaning look passed between him and the woman.

“To be sure, to be sure,” he said.  “And pretty missy will wait with us till you come.  But don’t be long, master, for we’ve a weary way to go afore night.”