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“Fine All of us And we’ve made a fine job of it now!”

“What? Who?” Branwell looked about for the voice, but it had come from nowhere

“We’re not alone!” snapped Euiltily She cursed herself She should have spoken up sooner

“Brunty,” cried Anne, and pointed toward the heavy book with its long,propped up on the couch and tied doith hair ribbons and wool yarn “It says ‘scurrilous’ right on the cover! ThatI don’t want a sneak to know our business, do you?”

“But I do know it,” the book said sly “I know it all, now Whisper, whisper, who likes the whispering game? Why, I do! I do so awfully”

The book of Brunty began to unfold But it could not quite ht for that He settled for getting his wide face and his ribbon nose out of the top of the great toh they were in his house, and not the other way round

“Perhaps I ht even be of some help, if you mean to start your careers as thieves I have rather an interest in grog ood heist”

“But you’re wicked!” sneered Anne “Everyone says so—even you say so, on your own cover! You’re going to prison, and only the very worst go to prison”

“Youyou read,to be wicked There’s only one way to be good—the straight and the narrow! But there’s a thousand and four ways to be wicked, each longer and wider than the last And if you want to do so wicked to Glass Tohy then, I am your servant!”

Branwell’s eyes sparkled “What did you do, then? Ittop drawer”

Brunty shrugged silkily “Stole Spied Lied Brawled The usual bits of fun Don’t tell htn’t, or said so you shouldn’t, or pinched so you wanted while no one was looking” The children blushed like four guilty roses “Well, little ones, when you do these things at hoet sent to bed without supper But when you get nabbed doing theo to their beds with full consciences It’s no different to swipe a bit of cheese from your father’s table than to swipe a bit of cheese from the enemy’s table Better, actually, since your father never did a thing to harm you, and you took his cheese anyhow I’m just the same as you I was you before you were you”

“But you’re very sorry? And you won’t do it again?” asked Anne hopefully

“Not particularly And I shall certainly do it again, and worse, and better, and ize for the plot? Now, let us return to our plot”

“We haven’t got any plot with you, sir,” sniffed Charlotte

“Oh, yes you have, young lady I know your secret, after all Never whisper in the presence of adolls”