d heard, and simply gone
abroad to travel, leaving them to battle with poverty as they could.

As time went on he had spoken less and less of his father, but he had
become certain that there must have been some cause for his father's
disappearance, though his mother might not know it; but in his own
mind there was a lurking fear that some disgrace might lie hidden
below the long silence. And so, as soon as tea was over, he said--

'I am going out to get some things for breakfast.'

So Horace was left to the comfort of his books and the study of his
lessons.

When Leonard reached home that same afternoon, Florence met him with
the information that father and mother had both gone out, and Mary the
housemaid did not know what time they would be home.

'Where have they gone?' asked Leonard, for it was a rare occurrence
for both to be away at the same time.

Florence shook her head. 'Mary says that James was sent with a letter
to Mr. Warren, and so I should think father had asked him to look
after some of his patients.'

'Very likely,' answered her brother; and then he took his satchel to
the little room where lessons were studied and sat down to think.

He did not know whether he was glad or sorry to hear that his father
had gone out. As he came along he had made up his mind that it would
be impossible to get bottles from his father's dispensing-room, for he
was never allowed to go there, and it was just possible that his
father had locked the door before going out, in which case he could
tell Taylor that it was impossible to get the chemicals for him, and
there would be an end of it.

But, although he said this, he knew there would not be an end of it,
and if he refused at last to get what was wanted, he would be sent to
Coventry, at least by those whose society he desired.

So after washing his hands before going to tea he went to the
dispensing-room, to find out whether the door could be opened, and
found that it yielded at once. He went in and closed the door, lest
one of the servants should come that way and see him, when they would
be sure to remind him that he was not allowed to go there.

After closing the door he looked round to see what he could find, and
there by the sink was a row of glass-stoppered bottles, evidently
filled with water for washing them. He selected two that he thought
would hold about half a pint each, and pouring out the water he took
them to the study and hid them in a corner out