the food therein, ready for his use as he worked, was standing by the
opening at the top of the steps, and he cast an anxious glance sidewise
in the direction of the passage, in dread lest the boy should detect the
light shining down.

He need not have been alarmed, for there was not a ray visible, and even
if there had been, the light cast by the opened lanthorn would have
hidden it; but he sat there trembling all the same, and with a curious
sensation of suffocation rising in his throat, as he softly altered his
position and loosened his hands, ready to make a spring at his enemy if
it should become necessary.

"Well, I do call that grumpy. Keeps on bringing you nuts, and you're so
snarky that you won't so much as give one back the shells. Now, then,
where's that basket?"

Archy felt that he must speak, or else the boy would go in search of it.

"I haven't done with it."

"But I want it to take back."

"It has some of the dinner in it."

"Well, then, let's empty it out."

"No," said Archy, sitting up angrily; "you can't have it now."

"Oh," said Ram, "that's it, is it? Suppose I say I will have it?"

"If you don't take yourself off," cried Archy, "I'll break your head
with one of these pieces of stone."

"Two can play at that game."

"Be off."

"I shan't. I want our basket. Mother said I was to bring it back."

"Tell her you haven't got it."

"Now, look here," cried Ram, "if you don't give me that basket back, I
won't bring you what I was going to bring to-morrow. Where is it?"

"Where I put it. You contemptible young smuggling thief! How dare you
come worrying a gentleman about a dirty old basket!"

"Wasn't dirty, for mother scrubbed it out before she'd send it to you.
Where is it?"

Desperate now in his fix, and feeling that his only resource to keep Ram
from searching for the basket with his lanthorn was to keep up this show
of anger, Archy made a snatch at a long splinter of stone, and started
up menacingly.

"Oh, that's it, is it?" cried Ram, who stood upon his guard, but did not
appear in the least bit alarmed. "Fed you too well, have I? Had too
many oats, and you're beginning to kick up your heels and squeak and
snort. Never mind, I'll soon make you civil again. Going to give me
that basket?"

"No."

"Then you shan't have this. There!" cried Ram, and snatching up the one
he had brought, he walked straight away, swinging his lanthorn after he
had shut it with a snap.