hony shifted his ground. No power on earth would have
induced him to give his accomplice away--they might flog him to death
first. But by confessing his own criminality he might save Haviland.

"No one with me, sir. I all alone," he answered volubly. "That man
tell big lie. Or praps he seen a ghost. Ha!"

The Doctor looked at him with compressed lips. Then he rang the bell,
and in the result, within a minute or two, the keeper re-appeared.

"Now Anthony," said the Doctor, "repeat to this man what you have just
told me." Anthony did.

"Why you tell one big lie? Ha! You saw me, yes, yes. No one with me.
I alone. How you see other when other not there?"

"Come. That's a good 'un," said the man, half amused, half angry. "Why
I see he as plain as I see you."

"See he? Ha! You see a ghost, praps? You ever see a ghost in
Hangman's Wood, hey?" and rolling his eyes so that they seemed to
protrude from his head, and lolling his tongue out, the Zulu boy stared
into the face of the dazed keeper, uttering the while the same cavernous
groan, which had sent that worthy fleeing from the haunted wood as
though the demon were at his heels.

"Good Lord!" was all the keeper could ejaculate, staring with mouth and
eyes wide open. Then, realising what a fool they had made of him, he
grew furious.

"You see ghost, yes? Praps Hangman's ghost, hey?" jeered the boy.

"You young rascal, you!" cried the infuriated keeper. "This ain't the
first time by a long chalk you've been in my coverts, you and the other
young scamp. There was another, sir," turning to the Doctor, "I'll take
my dying oath on it--and I hopes you'll flog 'em well, sir--and if ever
I catches 'em there again I'll have first in at 'em, that I will."

"You bring another big dog. I kill him too," jeered the descendant of
savage warriors, now clean forgetful of the dread presence of the
headmaster, and the condign punishment hanging over himself. "Kill you,
praps, _Hau_!" he added with a hideous curl of the lips, which exhibited
his splendid white teeth.

"See that, Doctor, sir?" cried the exasperated man. "The owdacious,
abandoned young blackamoor! But his lordship'll want that dawg paid
for, or he'll know the reason why. And 'e's a dawg that's taken
prizes."

Now Dr Bowen, for all his unbending severity, was a thorough
Englishman, and, as such, an admirer of pluck and grit. Here these two
boys had been attacked by a brute every whit as savage