"Did she, indeed? Tch, tch, tch! You don't say!" said Mary Poppins nodding her head sympathetically.
"Chirp-irrup!" said the bird, shrugging its wings dejectedly.
"What? Two years? In that cage? Shame on her!" said Mary Poppins to the bird, her face flushing with anger.
The children stared. The bird was speaking in no language they knew and yet here was Mary Poppins carrying on an intelligent conversation with him as though she understood.
"What is it saying—" Michael began.
"Sh!" said Jane, pinching his arm to make him keep quiet.
They stared at the bird in silence. Presently he hopped a little way along the perch towards Mary Poppins and sang a note or two in a low questioning voice.
Mary Poppins nodded. "Yes — of course I know that field. Was that where she caught you?"
The bird nodded. Then he sang a quick trilling phrase that sounded like a question.
Mary Poppins thought for a moment. "Well," she said. "It's not very far. You could do it in about an hour. Flying South from here."
The bird seemed pleased. He danced a little on his perch and flapped his wings excitedly. Then his song broke out again, a stream of round, clear notes, as he looked imploringly at Mary Poppins.
She turned her head and glanced cautiously up the stairs.
"Will I? What do you think? Didn't you hear her call me a Young Person? Me!" She sniffed disgustedly.
The bird's shoulders shook as though he were laughing.
Mary Poppins bent down.
"What are you going to do, Mary Poppins?" cried Michael, unable to contain himself any longer. "What kind of a bird is that?"
"A lark," said Mary Poppins, briefly, turning the handle of the little door. "You're seeing a lark in a cage for the first time — and the last!"
And as she said that the door of the cage swung open. The Lark, flapping his wings, swooped out with a shrill cry and alighted on Mary Poppins' shoulder.
"Humph!" she said, turning her head. "That's an improvement, I should think?"
"Chirr-up!" agreed the Lark, nodding.
"Well, you'd better be off," Mary Poppins warned him. "She'll be back in a minute."
At that the Lark burst into a stream of running notes, flicking its wings at her and bowing his head again and again.
"There, there!" said Mary Poppins, gruffly. "Don't thank me. I was glad to do it. I couldn't see a Lark in a cage! Besides, you heard what she called me!"
The Lark tossed back his head and fluttered his wings. He seemed to be laughing heartily. Then he cocked his head on one side and listened.
"Oh, I quite forgot!" came a trumpeting voice from upstairs. "I left Caruso outside. On those dirty steps. I must go and get him."
Miss Andrew's heavy tread sounded on the stairs.
"What?" she called back in reply to some question of Mrs. Banks. "Oh, he's my lark, my lark, Caruso! I call him that because he used to be such a beautiful singer. What? No, he doesn't sing at all now, not since I trapped him in the field and put him in a cage. I can't think why."
The voice was coming nearer, growing louder as it approached.
"Certainly not!" it called back to Mrs. Banks. "I will fetch him myself. I wouldn't trust one of those impudent children with him. Your banisters want polishing. They should be done at once."
Tramp-tramp. Tramp-tramp. Miss Andrew's steps sounded through the hall.
"Here she comes!" hissed Mary Poppins. "Be off with you!" She gave her shoulder a little shake.
"Quickly!" cried Michael anxiously.
"Oh, hurry!" said Jane.
The Twins waved their hands.
With a quick movement the Lark bent his head and pulled out one of his wing feathers with his beak.
"Chirr-chirr-chirr-irrup!" he sang and stuck the feather into the ribbon of Mary Poppins' hat. Then he spread his wings and swept into the air.
At the same moment Miss Andrew appeared in the doorway.
"What?" she shouted, when she saw Jane and Michael and the Twins. "Not gone up to bed yet? This will never do. All well-brought-up children—" she looked balefully at Mary Poppins, "should be in bed by five o'clock. I shall certainly speak to your Father."
She glanced round.
"Now, let me see. Where did I leave my—" She broke off suddenly. The uncovered cage, with its open door, stood at her feet. She stared down at it as though she were unable to believe her eyes.
"Why? When? Where? What? Who?" she spluttered. Then she found her full voice.
"Who took off that cover?" she thundered. The children trembled at the sound.
"Who opened that cage?"
There was no reply.
"Where is my Lark?"
Still there was silence as Miss Andrew stared from one child to another. At last her gaze fell accusingly upon Mary Poppins.
"You did it!" she cried, pointing her large finger. "I can tell by the look on your face! How dare you! I shall see that you leave this house to-night — bag and baggage! You impudent, impertinent, worthless—"
Chirp-irrup!
From the air came a little trill of laughter. Miss Andrew looked up. The Lark was lightly balancing on his wings just above the sunflowers.
"Ah, Caruso — there you are!" cried Miss Andrew. "Now come along! Don't keep me waiting. Come back to your nice, clean cage, Caruso, and let me shut the door!"
But the Lark just hung in the air and went into peals of laughter, flinging back his head and clapping his wings against his sides.
Miss Andrew bent and picked up the cage and held it above her head.
"Caruso — what did I say? Come back at once!" she commanded, swinging the cage towards him. But he swooped past it and brushed against Mary Poppins' hat.
"Chirp-irrup!" he said, as he sped by.
"All right," said Mary Poppins, nodding in reply.
"Caruso, did you hear me?" cried Miss Andrew. But now there was a hint of dismay in her loud voice. She put down the cage and tried to catch the Lark with her hands. But he dodged and flickered past her, and with a lift of his wings, dived higher into the air.
A babble of notes streamed down to Mary Poppins.
"Ready!" she called back.
And then a strange thing happened.
Mary Poppins fixed her eyes upon Miss Andrew and Miss Andrew, suddenly spell-bound by that strange dark gaze, began to tremble on her feet. She gave a little gasp, staggered uncertainly forward and with a thundering rush she dashed towards the cage. Then — was it that Miss Andrew grew smaller or the cage larger? Jane and Michael could not be sure. All they knew for certain was that the cage door shut to with a little click and closed upon Miss Andrew.
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" she cried, as the Lark swooped down and seized the cage by the handle.
"What am I doing? Where am I going?" Miss Andrew shouted as the cage swept into the air.
"I have no room to move! I can hardly breathe!" she cried.
"Neither could he!" said Mary Poppins quietly.
Miss Andrew rattled at the bars of the cage.
"Open the door! Open the door! Let me out, I say! Let me out!"
"Humph! Not likely," said Mary Poppins in a low, scoffing voice.
On and on went the Lark, climbing higher and higher and singing as he went. And the heavy cage, with Miss Andrew inside it, lurched after him, swaying dangerously as it swung from his claw.
Above the clear song of the Lark they heard Miss Andrew hammering at the bars and crying:
"I who was Well-Brought-Up! I who was Always Right! I who was Never Mistaken. That I should come to this!"
Mary Poppins gave a curious, quiet little laugh.
The Lark looked very small now, but still he circled upwards, singing loudly and triumphantly. And still Miss Andrew and her cage circled heavily after him, rocking from side to side, like a ship in a storm.