Archie agreed. 'But if papa orders you not to
go there?'

'He won't, unless somebody tells tales or meddles,' said Justin. 'If I
catch you or Pat at that sort of thing, I'll----' but he said no more.
It was best to let sleeping dogs lie. 'Papa won't think any more about
it, I don't suppose.'

'Perhaps not,' said Archie, not feeling quite easy in his mind all the
same. 'Were you there just now, Jus?' he added, for he had rather a big
bump of curiosity.

'Only for a minute. I didn't go in. Bob was looking out for me,' and
here Justin's tone became very friendly and confidential. 'You needn't
go talking about it,' he said, 'but, Archie, Bob's _got them_. He's to
fetch them on Monday morning. Isn't it splendacious?'

'You mean the ferrets,' said Archie, growing excited in spite of
himself, for both he and Pat had been getting rather tired of the
subject. 'He's actshally _got_ them!'

Justin nodded.

'And what about the money--the rest of it--what's short, you know?'
Archie went on.

'Oh--that'll be all right. We'll manage it somehow. The people'll wait a
week or two. Don't you tell any one. Where's Pat? I want to tell him
myself.'

'He went upstairs to look for mamma and the little ones,' said Archie.
'Mamma was wondering why we were so late.'

'It isn't late,' said Justin, 'anyway I've not finished my Monday
lessons,' and he went off to the schoolroom, turning back to say to
Archie that if he heard their father asking for him again he was to
reply,'Oh yes, Jus has been in some time.'

Archie made no promise, but he resolved to keep out of the way, for
though there was no actual untruth in what Jus denoted, he felt that his
brother's motive rather savoured of wishing to mislead, and anything of
that kind went against his own instincts.

But no more inquiries about Justin reached him. Mr. Hervey, as Justin
had thought probable, seemed to have forgotten all about the matter--as
often happened, he was absorbed by his own reading and writing, and the
warnings he had received about Bob Crag went out of his head for the
time being.

Sunday morning broke clear and bright, but increasingly cold.

'It might really be Christmas already,' said the boys' mother at
breakfast-time. 'I am afraid it looks like a very severe winter, the
cold beginning so early.'

'Yes,' Mr. Hervey agreed, 'I fancy we shall have it pretty sharp this
year.'

'All the better,' said Justin, 'if it gives us lots of skating,' which
put it in