," added Noaks, turning on his heel with a
sneering laugh; "you needn't give it me back."

A cross of blue chalk had been placed against a short paragraph
appearing under the heading "Local Notes." Jack read it out loud for the
edification of his two companions.

"We notice that Mr. Fossberry has offered a reward of 50 pounds for any
information which shall lead to the arrest of the thieves who entered
his house some few weeks ago, and stole a valuable collection of coins.
As yet the police have been unable to discover any further traces of the
missing property, but it is to be hoped that before long the offenders
will be discovered and brought to justice."

There was a moment's silence.

"I wish I'd told my guv'nor," muttered Jack Vance.

"Well, tell him now," said Diggory.

"Oh no, I can't now; he'd wonder why I hadn't done it sooner. Besides,
I believe Noaks is only doing this to frighten us; he can't prove that
we stole the coins, because we didn't. All the same, it would be very
awkward if he sent the police that jack-knife, and told them he'd seen
us climbing out of the old chap's window."

"Yes," answered Diggory; "I suppose it would look rather fishy.
Bother him! why can't he leave us alone?"

CHAPTER XI.

SHADOWS OF COMING EVENTS.

The Easter holidays came and went as rapidly as Easter holidays always
do, and before the Alliance had recovered from the excitement connected
with their first experience of breaking up at Ronleigh, they were back
again, greeting their friends, asking new boys their names, and, in
short, commencing their second term as regular old stagers. Up to the
present they had been content to "lie low," and had remained satisfied
with making the acquaintance of their class-mates in "The Happy Family;"
but now they began to take more interest in school matters in general,
and to notice what was going on in other circles besides their own.

In answer to the eager inquiries of his two companions, Jack Vance said
that he had seen nothing of Noaks during the holidays, except having
passed him on one or two occasions in the street. The notice of the
fifty pounds reward still appeared in the windows of the police station;
but the robbery itself was beginning to be looked upon as a thing of the
past, and was already wellnigh forgotten.

"I wonder if Noaks has still got my knife?" said Mugford.

"Oh, I don't know," answered Jack. "He's too much taken up with Mouler
and Gull a