w, if I let ee have 'em, will you promise not to walk in them in the
garden, and make holes?"

"Yes, yes," said the boys, and then Sam led the way to the stoke-hole of
the green-house, where, tucked up in the rafters, and rolled tightly up
in piece of matting, were the two pairs of stilts.

The boys seized them with delight; and Sam turned to go on with his
work; but just as the stilt-stalkers reached the yard, and prepared to
mount with their backs to the wall, clatter went the breakfast bell down
went the stilts, and away scampered the boys to the breakfast-room
window. On the way, however, they met Sam going also to his breakfast,
and in doing so he would have to pass the yard, and Harry remembered
that they had left the stilts there unprotected; so he and Philip
scampered back again, just in time, for the old man could not pass the
instruments which poked holes in his gravel-walks, and he was just
gathering them up when he heard the boys' footsteps, and, leaving the
stilts on the ground, he shuffled off as hard as he could.

They took the stilts indoors, and into the hall, to place up in a
corner, and just as they were inside it struck Harry how nice it would
be to walk along the large hall upon them; for the floor was composed of
black and white marble in diamonds, so that he could have one stilt on a
black diamond and another on a white, and then change about again. So
he got his back up in the corner where the macintoshes and great-coats
hung, and then put one foot in one stilt, and made a spring to get into
the other, but gave his head such a crack against the brass hat pegs,
that he came down quicker than he went up, and then rubbed his crown
with a very rueful expression of countenance. However, Harry's was not
a nature to be cowed at a slight difficulty; so shifting his position a
little, he had another try, and was fairly mounted.

"Stump--stump; stump--stump; stump--stump," went Harry down the hall;
and "stump--stump; stump--stump; stump--stump," he went back again, with
a face beaming with satisfaction, but so intent upon what he was doing,
that his forehead came sharply into collision with the swing lamp, and
made the glass, and Harry's teeth as well, chatter quite sharply.

"Bother the stupid things," said Harry; "I wish they would not have such
things in the hall."

Philip stood on the mat and grinned.

"Stump--stump; stump--stump; stump--stump," went Harry again, but
keeping well clear of obs