"Thaddeus!" ejaculated both Ducklows at once, "did you touch them
bonds?"

"Didn't know what they was!" whimpered Taddy.

"Did you take them?" And the female Ducklow grasped his shoulder.

"Hands off, if you please!" remarked Miss Beswick, with frightfully
gleaming courtesy. "I told him, if he'd be a good boy, and come along
with Richard, and tell the truth, he shouldn't be hurt. _If_ you
please," she repeated, with a majestic nod; and Mrs. Ducklow took her
hands off.

"Where are they now? where are they?" cried Ducklow, rushing headlong to
the main question.

"Don't know," said Taddy.

"Don't know? you villain!" And Ducklow was rising in wrath. But Miss
Beswick put up her hand deprecatingly.

"If _you_ please!" she said, with grim civility; and Ducklow sank down
again.

"What did you do with 'em? what did you want of 'em?" said Mrs. Ducklow,
with difficulty restraining an impulse to wring his neck.

"To cover my kite," confessed the miserable Taddy.

"Cover your kite! your kite!" A chorus of groans from the Ducklows.
"Didn't you know no better?"

"Didn't think you'd care," said Taddy. "I had some newspapers Dick give
me to cover it; but I thought them things 'u'd be pootier. So I took
'em, and put the newspapers in the wrapper."

"Did ye cover yer kite?"

"No. When I found out you cared so much about 'em, I dars'n't; I was
afraid you'd see 'em."

"Then what _did_ you do with 'em?"

"When you was away, Dick come over to sleep with me, and I--I sold 'em
to him."

"Sold 'em to Dick!"

"Yes," spoke up Dick, stoutly, "for six marbles, and one was a
bull's-eye, and one agate, and two alleys. Then, when you come home and
made such a fuss, he wanted 'em ag'in. But he wouldn't give me back but
four, and I wa'n't going to agree to no such nonsense as that."

"I'd lost the bull's-eye and one common," whined Taddy.

"But the bonds! did you destroy 'em?"

"Likely I'd destroy 'em, after I'd paid six marbles for 'em!" said Dick.
"I wanted 'em to cover _my_ kite with."

"Cover _your_--oh! then _you_'ve made a kite of 'em?" said Ducklow.

"Well, I was going to, when Aunt Beswick ketched me at it. She made me
tell where I got 'em, and took me over to your house jest now; and Taddy
said you was over here, and so she put ahead, and made us follow her."

Again, in an agony of impatience, Ducklow demanded to know where the
bonds were at that moment.

"If Taddy'll give me back the marbles," began Master Di