You never could tell what might happen.

Cecily took the wishbone in her trembling little hands and began her backward pacing, repeating solemnly, "I wish that we may find Paddy alive, or else his body, so that we can bury him decently." By the time Cecily had repeated this nine times we were all slightly infected with the desperate hope that something might come of it; and when she had made her nine gyrations we looked eagerly down the sunset lane, half expecting to see our lost pet.

But we saw only the Awkward Man turning in at the gate.

This was almost as surprising as the sight of Pat himself would have been; but there was no sign of Pat and hope flickered out in every breast but Peter's.
"You've got to give the spell time to work," he expostulated.

"If Pat was miles away when it was wished it wouldn't be reasonable to expect to see him right off." But we of little faith had already lost that little, and it was a very disconsolate group which the Awkward Man presently joined.
He was smiling--his rare, beautiful smile which only children ever saw--and he lifted his hat to the girls with no trace of the shyness and awkwardness for which he was notorious.
"Good evening," he said.