'
Robert must now hide the violin better than his grannie had done,
while at the same time it was a more delicate necessity, seeing it
had lost its shell, and he shrunk from putting her in the power of
the shoemaker again. It cost him much trouble to fix on the place
that was least unsuitable. First he put it into the well of the
clock-case, but instantly bethought him what the awful consequence
would be if one of the weights should fall from the gradual decay of
its cord. He had heard of such a thing happening. Then he would
put it into his own place of dreams and meditations. But what if
Betty should take a fancy to change her bed? or some friend of his
grannie's should come to spend the night? How would the bonny leddy
like it? What a risk she would run! If he put her under the bed,
the mice would get at her strings--nay, perhaps, knaw a hole right
through her beautiful body. On the top of the clock, the brass
eagle with outspread wings might scratch her, and there was not
space to conceal her. At length he concluded--wrapped her in a
piece of paper, and placed her on the top of the chintz tester of
his bed, where there was just room between it and the ceiling: that
would serve till he bore her to some better sanctuary. In the
meantime she was safe, and the boy was the blessedest boy in
creation.
These things done, they were just in the humour to have a lark with
Betty. So they unbolted the door, rang the bell, and when Betty
appeared, red-faced and wrathful, asked her very gravely and
politely whether they were not going to have some dinner before they
went back to school: they had now but twenty minutes left.
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