faithful friends"--as the old copybooks say in
elegant Virgilian Latin--"renewing is of love." And so it was with
Oliver and Wraysford.

Why, they were twice the friends they were before! Twice! Fifty times!
And they laughed and talked and made fools of themselves for a whole
half-hour over the discovery, and might have done so for an hour, had
not Stephen, who had patiently remained outside for a reasonable time,
now returned to join in the celebration.

"Stee, you young beggar," said Wraysford, as the boy entered, "if you
don't have my tea piping hot to-night, and fresh herrings for three done
to a regular turn, I'll flay you alive, my boy. And now, if you're
good, you may come and kick me!"

Stephen, overflowing with joy, and quite rickety with emotion, flew at
his old friend, and, instead of kicking him, caught hold of his arm, and
turning to his brother, cried, "Oh, Noll! _isn't_ this prime? Why,
here's old Wray--"

"That beast Wraysford," suggested the owner of the title; "do give a
fellow his proper name, young 'un."

This little interruption put Stephen off his speech; and the three,
locking the study-door, settled down to talk rationally, or, at any
rate, as rationally as they could, over affairs.

"You see," said Wraysford, "I can't imagine now what possessed me to
make such a fool of myself."

"Now you needn't begin at that again," said Oliver. "If I hadn't cut up
so at that jackass Simon, when he began about my being in the Doctor's
study that evening, it would never have happened."

"Bah! any one might have known the fellow was telling lies."

"But he wasn't telling lies," said Oliver. "I _was_ in the Doctor's
study all alone that evening, and at the very time the paper went too.
That's just the queer thing about it."

"You were?" exclaimed both the boys, for this was news even to Stephen.

"Yes, of course I was. Don't you know I went to see him about Stephen,
and that row he had up at the Lock?"

"Oh, yes," said Stephen, "I remember. I was in a regular blue funk that
evening."

"Well, the Doctor wasn't there. I hung about a few minutes for him, and
then, as he didn't turn up, I left, and met that old booby just as I was
coming out of the door."

"And he's gone and told everybody he saw you coming out with the paper
in your pocket."

Oliver laughed loud at this.

"Upon my word, the fellow must have sharp eyes if he could do that!
Well, I was so disgusted when he came up after