CHAPTER XX
IT WON'T VANISH AWAY
IT would have seemed that this was the climax of wonders and delights. To know that they had escaped for ever from Aunt Matilda’s world; that they were not to be parted from John Holt: that they were to be like his children, living with him, sharing his great house, and learning all they could want to learn. All this, even when it was spoken of as possible, seemed more than could be believed; but it seemed almost more unbelievable day by day as the truth began to realise itself in detail. What a marvellous thing it was to find out that they were not lonely, uncared-for creatures any more, but that they belonged to a man who seemed to hold all power in his hands. When John Holt took them to the big stores and bought them all they needed—new clothes and new trunks, and new comforts and luxuries, such as they had never thought of as belonging to them—they felt almost aghast. He was so practical, and seemed
