ercer, you are
excused too. That will do."

"Thank you, sir; thank you, sir," cried Mercer joyfully; and we both
bowed and hurried away to the loft, Mr Rebble shaking his head at us as
we passed his desk, and Mr Hasnip, as I thought, looking sadly
disappointed as far as I could judge, though I could not see his eyes.

On reaching the loft, Mercer was in such a state of exultation that he
relieved his feelings by standing upon his head on the corn-bin; but I
did not feel so glad, for I had not spoken out, and the Doctor had been
acting under a misconception, and I said so.

"Oh, never mind," cried Mercer, speaking with his heels in the air. "We
couldn't explain, and it don't matter. Oh, I say, won't old Eely be
pleased that we've got off!"

I did not answer, for I still felt that I should like to go and tell the
Doctor frankly everything that had passed.

CHAPTER NINE.

Mercer was terribly exercised in mind about Magglin's gun, and his
having to give that up for the sake of his revenge, but a letter from
home containing five shillings revived his hopes, and it was put aside
as a nest-egg, so that the amount might be raised at last, though what
the amount was we had no idea.

Our injuries soon became better, and were forgotten, as the days went
rapidly by, while I grew so much at home that the arrival of a new pupil
made me feel quite one of the old boys. I had my patch of garden given
me, and took great pride in digging and planting it, and as soon as my
interest was noticed by my namesake, he coolly walked across it twice,
laughing at me contemptuously the while, as if he knew that I dared not
retaliate.

And all this time I worked hard with my lessons, with more or less
success, I suppose, for Mr Hasnip, who was a kind of encyclopaedia, and
seemed to know everything, did not scold me and box my ears with the
book he held every day.

We did not have another fishing trip, for the keeper met us one day and
informed us that we owed him two shillings for damage done to his lines,
and this debt I undertook to repay as soon as I obtained some more money
from home. But we had several afternoons in the woods, and brought back
treasures which were safely deposited in Mercer's box, ready for
examination at some future time.

Some people would not have called them treasures, though they were
looked upon as such by Mercer, who was exceedingly proud of a snake-skin
which he found in a patch of dwarf furze, and