dare say! or perhaps a dog!" answered Betty, turning hastily
round, and hurrying down the ladder faster than she had come up. "I
certainly thought something moved in yon far corner."

"Where can that little shrimp of a boy be hid?" added Mrs. Crabtree,
following. "He must have obedience knocked like a nail into his head,
with a few good severe blows. I shall beat him to powder when once we
catch him."

"You may depend upon it," persisted Betty, "that some gipsey has got the
boys for the sake of their clothes. It will be a great pity, because
Master Harry had on his best blue jacket and trowsers."

No sooner was the loft cleared of these unwelcome visitors, than Harry
and Peter began to recover from their panic, and jumped out of the hay,
shaking themselves free from it, and skipping about in greater glee than
ever.

While they played about, as they had done before, and tumbled as if they
had been tumblers at Ducrow's, poor Harry got into such spirits, that he
completely forgot about the deep holes called mangers, for containing
the horse's food, till all at once, when Peter was running after him, he
fell, with a loud crash, headlong into one of them! Oh! what a scream he
gave!--it echoed through the stable, terrifying a whole team of horses
that were feeding there, more particularly the one into whose manger he
had fallen. The horse gave a tremendous start when Harry plunged down
close to his nose, and not being able to run away, he put back his ears,
opened his mouth, and kicked and struggled in the most frightful manner,
while Harry, who could not make his escape any more than the horse,
shouted louder and louder for help.

Peter did all he could to assist Harry in this extraordinary
predicament, but finding it impossible to be of any use, he forgot their
terror of Mrs. Crabtree in his fears about Harry, and rushed to the
window, calling back their two pursuers, who were walking away at a
great distance. He screamed and hollooed, and waved his handkerchief,
without ceasing, till at last Mrs. Crabtree heard him, and turned round,
but never was anybody more astonished then she was, on seeing him there,
so she scolded, stormed, and raged, up to the very foot of the ladder.

"Now, you are the besiegers, and I am the garrison!" cried Peter, when
he saw Mrs. Crabtree panting and toiling in her ascent. "We must make a
treaty of peace together, for I could tumble you over in a minute, by
merely pushing this end a very