pass months--perhaps
years.

"I shall never like Mrs Solomon," I said to myself dolefully; "and I
shall only like him half and half--liking him sometimes and not caring
for him at others."

I was very tired, and soon after I was lying in the cool sweet sheets
thinking about my new home, and watching the dimly-seen window; and then
it seemed to be all light and to look over Old Brownsmith's garden,
where Shock was pelting at me with pellets of clay thrown from the end
of a switch. And all the time he came nearer and nearer till the
pellets went right over my shoulder, and they grew bigger till they were
peaches that he kept sticking on the end of the switch, and as he threw
them they broke with a noise that was like the word _Push_!

I wanted to stop him, but I could not till he threw one peach with all
his might, and the switch caught me across the back, and I retaliated by
taking it away and thrashing him.

Then I woke with a start, and found I had been dreaming. I lay for a
few minutes after that in the darkness thinking that I would learn all I
could about fruit-growing as fast as possible, so as to know everything,
and get back to Old Brownsmith; and then all at once I found myself
sitting up in bed listening, with the sun shining in at one side of my
blind, while I was wondering where I was and how I had come there.

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE.

I BEGIN WORK.

Boys like sleep in the morning, but the desire to cuddle up for a few
minutes more and to go back to dreamland is not there on the first
morning at a new home or at a fresh school.

On that particular morning I did not feel in the least sleepy, only
uncomfortably nervous; and, hearing voices through the wall, I jumped up
and dressed quickly, to find on going down that Mr Solomon was in the
kitchen putting on his thick boots.

"Just coming to call you," he said, nodding. "Harpus five. Hah! change
coming," he cried, stamping his feet in his boots; "rain--rain. Come
along."

He unbolted the door and I followed him out, drawing a breath of the
sweetly fragrant air as we stepped at once into the bright sunshine,
where the flowers were blooming and the trees were putting forth their
strength.

But I had no opportunity for looking about the garden, for Mr Solomon
led the way at once to the stoke-holes down behind the glass-houses,
rattled open the doors, and gave a stoke here with a great iron rod, and
a poke there where the fires were caked toget