And when I said surrender and all that, it was just the game, don't you know ?' Then our robber said, 'Yes, old chap; but when you found there really _was_ someone there, you dropped the pistol and bunked, didn't you, eh ?' And I said, 'No; I thought, "Hullo! here's a robber! Well, it's all up, I suppose, but I may as well hold on and see what happens."' And I was glad I'd owned up, for Father slapped me on the back, and said I was a young brick, and our robber said I was no funk anyway, and though I got very hot under the blanket I liked it, and I explained that the others would have done the same if they had thought of it.
Then Father got up some more beer, and laughed about Dora's responsibility, and he got out a box of figs he had bought for us, only he hadn't given it to us because of the Water Rates, and Eliza came in and brought up the bread and cheese, and what there was left of the neck of mutton--cold wreck of mutton, Father called it--and we had a feast--like a picnic--all sitting anywhere, and eating with our fingers.
It was prime.

We sat up till past twelve o'clock, and I never felt so pleased to think I was not born a girl.

It was hard on the others; they would have done just the same if they'd thought of it.

But it does make you feel jolly when your pater says you're a young brick! When Mr Foulkes was going, he said to Alice, 'Good-bye, Hardy.' And Alice understood, of course, and kissed him as hard as she could.
And she said, 'I wanted to, when you said no one kissed you when you left off being a pirate.' And he said, 'I know you did, my dear.' And Dora kissed him too, and said, 'I suppose none of these tales were true ?' And our robber just said, 'I tried to play the part properly, my dear.' And he jolly well did play it, and no mistake.

We have often seen him since, and his boy Denny, and his girl Daisy, but that comes in another story.
And if any of you kids who read this ever had two such adventures in one night you can just write and tell me.