t--and lost
some of the knives, too. I've an idea Bill Beresford picked up one I
dropped--the one Lance Western gave me; it's got a tortoise-shell
handle, and a nick out of the big blade--and gave it to me for himself."

"It sounds the sort of economical thing Bill would do," Wally remarked.

"Then there are five magnifying glasses, seven pencil cases, and six
pens," said Norah. "All tokens of affection, Jim? I'll put them in the
middle drawer."

"What on earth I'm going to do with 'em all," said their harassed
owner, "I'm sure I don't know. Does any one chap use five magnifiers in
his life? Never used one yet! I wish the fellows hadn't been so kind--it
was awfully brickish of them, though, wasn't it? And the Doctor gave me
this." He held up a large and solemn--looking book.

"What is it?"

"'Self Help,' by a chap named Smiles. Shouldn't have thought there were
many smiles about a book looking like that, but it shows you can't tell
everything by the cover. And Mrs. Doctor gave me this tie--knitted it
herself. It was jolly decent of her, wasn't it? She's always been
awfully kind to me," said the big fellow, who had no idea of what "Mrs.
Doctor" thought of his cheerful habit of picking up two or three of her
babies and treating them to a wild ride round the school grounds on his
back; and who had on one occasion sat up all night with a sick
three-year-old who had cried unreasonably for "Yinton" to come and
carry him. The boy had recovered, somewhat against expectations, and
Jim had thought no more of the matter, except to drop gently and firmly
into a gorse bush a fellow who had chaffed him for being a nursemaid.
He had been amazed, and greatly embarrassed, by the tears in little
"Mrs. Doctor's" eyes as she bade him good-bye. Nothing on earth would
have induced him to mention them.

"If the Doctor ever gives me anything barring the length of his tongue,
I'll have apoplexy!" remarked Wally. "We don't twin-soul a bit better
than we did. He caught me beautifully the other day. Three or four of
us were going to have a supper. I'd been into town to the dentist, and
was bringing home a lobster. Coming out, that idiot Bob Greenfield was
next me on the train, and he amused himself by rubbing the lobster
gently until the thin brown paper they wrap 'em in had worn through in
places. I was talking cricket for all I was worth, and never noticed
him. I'd bought an evening paper, and given him my lobster to hold
while I looked u