the tree he described, and bring back the bundle
he should find concealed therein. "You can go there and back," he said,
"in an hour and a half, and I shall want the bundle by that time."

The brother, whose name I never rightly caught, set out at once. As soon
as he was gone, George took from a drawer the feathers and bones of
quails, that he had shown my father on the morning when he met him. He
divided them in half, and made them into two bundles, one of which he
docketed, "Bones of quails eaten, XIX. xii. 29, by Professor Hanky,
P.O.W.W., &c." And he labelled Panky's quail bones in like fashion.

Having done this, he returned to the gaol, but on his way he looked in at
the Mayor's, and left a note saying that he should be at the gaol, where
any message would reach him, but that he did not wish to meet Professors
Hanky and Panky for another couple of hours. It was now about half-past
twelve, and he caught sight of a crowd coming quietly out of the temple,
whereby he knew that Hanky would soon be at the Mayor's house.

Dinner was brought in almost at the moment when George returned to the
gaol. As soon as it was over George said:-

"Are you quite sure you have made no mistake about the way in which you
got the permit out of the Professors?"

"Quite sure. I told them they would not want it, and said I could save
them trouble if they gave it me. They never suspected why I wanted it.
Where do you think I may be mistaken?"

"You sold your nuggets for rather less than a twentieth part of their
value, and you threw in some curiosities, that would have fetched about
half as much as you got for the nuggets. You say you did this because
you wanted money to keep you going till you could sell some of your
nuggets. This sounds well at first, but the sacrifice is too great to be
plausible when considered. It looks more like a case of good honest
manly straightforward corruption."

"But surely you believe me?"

"Of course I do. I believe every syllable that comes from your mouth,
but I shall not be able to make out that the story was as it was not,
unless I am quite certain what it really was."

"It was exactly as I have told you."

"That is enough. And now, may I tell my mother that you will put
yourself in her, and the Mayor's, and my, hands, and will do whatever we
tell you?"

"I will be obedience itself--but you will not ask me to do anything that
will make your mother or you think less well of me?"