en't after his fowls; guinea-hen ran out of the hedge under our
feet, and we've seen nothing else."

"Drat their talk! Thee catch hold o' t'other, Willum, and come along
wi' un."

"Farmer Thompson," said Holmes, warning off Willum and the prong with
his stick, while Diggs faced the other shepherd, cracking his fingers
like pistol-shots, "now listen to reason. The boys haven't been after
your fowls, that's plain."

"Tells ee I seed 'em. Who be you, I should like to know?"

"Never you mind, farmer," answered Holmes. "And now I'll just tell you
what it is--you ought to be ashamed of yourself for leaving all that
poultry about, with no one to watch it, so near the School. You
deserve to have it all stolen. So if you choose to come up to the
Doctor with them, I shall go with you, and tell him what I think of
it."

The farmer began to take Holmes for a master; besides, he wanted to
get back to his flock. Corporal punishment was out of the question,
the odds were too great; so he began to hint at paying for the damage.
Arthur jumped at this, offering to pay anything, and the farmer
immediately valued the guinea-hen at half a sovereign.

"Half a sovereign!" cried East, now released from the farmer's grip;
"well, that is a good one! the old hen isn't hurt a bit, and she's
seven years old, I know, and as tough as whipcord; she couldn't lay
another egg to save her life."

It was at last settled that they should pay the farmer two shillings
and his man one shilling, and so the matter ended, to the unspeakable
relief of Tom, who hadn't been able to say a word, being sick at heart
at the idea of what the Doctor would think of him; and now the whole
party of boys marched off down the woodpath toward Rugby. Holmes, who
was one of the best boys in the school, began to improve the occasion.
"Now, you youngsters," said he, as he marched along in the middle of
them, "mind this: you're very well out of this scrape. Don't you go
near Thompson's barn again, do you hear?"

Profuse promises from all, especially East.

LECTURE ON SCHOOL LARCENY.

"Mind, I don't ask questions," went on Mentor, "but I rather think
some of you have been there before this after his chickens. Now,
knocking over other people's chickens, and running off with them is
stealing. It's an ugly word, but that's the plain English of it. If
the chickens were dead and lying in a shop, you wouldn't take them, I
know that, any more than you would apples out of Grif