But Austin, disdaining to argue the point with any one of them, had already hobbled out of the room, and before they were well aware of it had begun to essay the descent perilous.  Ominous bumps were heard, and then a dull thud as of a body falling.  But a bend in the wall had caught the body, and the explorer was none the worse.  Then Aunt Charlotte, rushing back into the bedroom, flung open the window wide.

“Lubin!” she shouted lustily.

A young gardener boy, tall, round-faced and curly-haired, glanced up astonished from his work among the sweet-peas.

“Come up here directly and carry Master Austin downstairs.  He’s got a wooden leg and hasn’t learnt how to use it.”

The consequence of which was that two minutes later Austin, panting and enraged at the failure of his first attempt at independence, found himself firmly encircled by a pair of strong young arms, lifted gently from the ground, and carried swiftly and safely downstairs and out at the garden door.

“Now you just keep quiet, Master Austin,” murmured Lubin, chuckling as Austin began to kick.  “No use your starting to run before you know how to walk.  Wooden legs must be humoured a bit, Sir; ’twon’t do to expect too much of ’em just at first, you see.  This one o’ yours is mighty handsome to look at, I don’t deny, but it’s not accustomed to staircases and maybe it’ll take some time before it is.  Hold tight, Sir; only a few yards more now.  There!  Here we are on the lawn at last.  Now you can try your paces at your leisure.”

“You’re awfully nice to me, Lubin,” gasped Austin, red with mortification, as he slipped from the lad’s arms on to the grass, “but I felt just now as if I could have killed you, all the same.”

“Lor’, Sir, I don’t mind,” said Lubin.  “I doubt that was no more’n natural.  Can you stand steady?  Here—­lay hold o’ my arm.  Slow and sure’s the word.  Look out for that flower-bed.  Now, then, round you go—­that’s it.  Ah!”—­as Austin fell sprawling on the grass.  “Now how are you going to get up again, I should like to know?  Seems to me the first thing you’ve got to learn is not to lose your balance, ’cause once you’re down ’tain’t the easiest thing in creation to scramble up again.  You’ll have to stick to the crutch at first, I reckon.  Up we come!  Now let’s see how you can fare along a bit all by yourself.”

Austin was thankful for the support of his crutch, with the aid of which he managed to stagger about for a few minutes at quite a respectable speed.  It reminded him almost of the far-off days when he was learning to ride his bicycle.  At last he thought he would like to rest a bit, and was much surprised when, on flinging himself down upon a garden seat, his leg flew up in the air.