The next afternoon, three children from the Large Family sat in the library with Mr. Carrisford. They wanted to cheer up the sick man. Mr. Carrisford invited them because he liked them. He was very nervous today. He was waiting for Mr. Carmichael to come back from Moscow. Mr. Carmichael was looking for a lost girl there.
Janet sat on the floor near Mr. Carrisford. Nora sat on a small stool. Donald sat on a rug. This rug was made of a tiger’s skin. Donald jumped up and down on the tiger’s head. He was playing very loudly.
"Do not make so much noise, Donald," Janet said. "You must be quiet when you cheer up a sick person." Janet looked at Mr. Carrisford. "Is our noise too loud for you?" she asked. Mr. Carrisford touched Janet's shoulder. He told Janet that the noise was fine. The children helped him stop thinking about his problems.
Donald shouted that they would be as quiet as mice. Janet told Donald that mice do not shout. Donald used his handkerchief like a rope for his tiger. He said that a thousand mice might make a lot of noise. Janet told him to be quiet like just one mouse. Mr. Carrisford laughed at the children.
"My papa will be home soon," Janet said. "Can we talk about the lost little girl?" Mr. Carrisford sighed. He said he could not think about anything else. The children called the lost girl the "un-fairy princess." They called her this because she was not a fairy. However, she would be very rich when they found her.
Nora asked a question about the girl’s father. She asked if he gave his money to a friend for a mine. The friend thought he lost all the money, so he ran away. He felt like a thief. Janet felt sorry for the friend. She knew the friend did not want to be bad.
Mr. Carrisford took Janet’s hand. He told Janet that she was a very kind girl. Suddenly, a cab stopped outside the house. Mr. Carmichael was home! The children ran out of the room to meet their father. Mr. Carrisford tried to stand up. He was too weak and sat down again.
Mr. Carmichael came into the room. He looked healthy, but his face was sad. "What is the news?" Mr. Carrisford asked. He asked about the child in Russia. Mr. Carmichael said the girl in Russia was not the right child. Her name was Emily Carew. She was much younger than the girl they wanted to find.
Mr. Carrisford felt very sad and tired. He said they must start the search again. Mr. Carmichael sat down. He wanted to help his friend. He suggested they search for the girl in London. Mr. Carrisford remembered the school next door. He told Mr. Carmichael about a poor girl who lived there.
Just then, Ram Dass came into the room. Ram Dass was the Indian servant. He was very excited. "The girl from next door is here," Ram Dass said. "The monkey ran away again, and she brought it back." He asked if Mr. Carrisford wanted to see her. Mr. Carrisford told Ram Dass to bring the girl inside.
Sara walked into the room. She held the monkey in her arms. The monkey did not want to leave Sara. Sara had red cheeks because she was excited. She told Mr. Carrisford that the monkey came to her window last night. She kept him because it was very cold.
Mr. Carrisford looked at Sara with interest. Sara asked if she should give the monkey to the Lascar. "How do you know he is a Lascar?" Mr. Carrisford asked. Sara smiled. She said she knew about Lascars because she was born in India.
Mr. Carrisford sat up very quickly. He was very surprised. He took Sara’s hand and looked at her. He asked if she lived at the school next door. Sara said she lived at Miss Minchin's school. She told him she was not a student now.
Sara told him her story. She said she lived in the attic. She worked for the cook and she taught the small children. Mr. Carrisford felt very weak. He asked Mr. Carmichael to ask Sara more questions.
Mr. Carmichael asked Sara about her father. Sara said her father died in India. She said he lost all his money. There was no money left for her, so she had to work. Mr. Carrisford shouted Mr. Carmichael’s name. He was very excited and nervous.
"How did your father lose the money?" Mr. Carrisford asked. Sara said her father had a friend. He loved his friend very much. He gave his money to the friend, and the friend ran away with it. Sara said the loss of the money killed her father. Then Mr. Carrisford asked for her father’s name.
"His name was Ralph Crewe," Sara said. "He was Captain Crewe." Mr. Carrisford gasped. "It is the child!" he told Mr. Carmichael. Ram Dass gave Mr. Carrisford some medicine because he was very shocked. Sara was confused and afraid.
"Who am I?" Sara asked. Mr. Carmichael looked at her. He told Sara that Mr. Carrisford was her father’s friend. He said they had been looking for her for two years. Sara felt like she was in a dream. She had been at the school the whole time. She had been living right on the other side of the wall.