se
his foolishness and screen him from the results of many an escapade.
His boyhood was being swiftly recalled by the antics of those boys, and
by Tom Holtum's ways and words. He saw his boyish self more in Tom
than in the others, and the contact with those young spirits was doing
the recluse good.

The hand on Tom's shoulder pressed more heavily, but it was not an
ungentle touch, and Tom wondered what was coming next.

"Madram!" muttered Neeven, as if he were thinking aloud, and had
forgotten their presence. "Madram, boys' madram! There may be worse
things in the world than that."

The cloud lifted a little from their spirits then; and a welcome
diversion took place at that moment in the form of Yaspard, who
presented himself on the scene, flustered, and eager to take the blame
of whatever had happened on his own shoulders.

After a dreamless slumber of an hour or two, he had waked up to
remember his tryst, and getting up at once, had hastened to a spot
where he could see if the _Laulie_ were anywhere near the geo. Pirate
accompanied him, and did not at all care for going in the direction of
the geo, but kept scampering towards another point, frequently looking
back, as if he wished his young master to follow.

The _Laulie_ was not in sight, and Yaspard feared the boys had returned
home on finding he did not keep his promise, or had heard of the
_Osprey's_ misfortunes, and had not come at all.

While he speculated Pirate grew impatient, and begged in every
expressive canine manner that he knew better than Yaspard, who at last
yielded to the dog's persuasions and followed, to find the _Laulie_
moored not far from where he was.

"Just so!" he exclaimed. "I see! When they found I did not come, they
started on the adventure without me."

After that he set off for Trullyabister, and appeared before Mr. Neeven
and his "enemies," as I have stated.

"You are early afoot!" was the salutation spoken sarcastically by the
master of the situation. But our hero, nothing daunted, answered--

"Good morning, sir! Well, boys, I suppose you tried it without me, and
failed, of course."

"I was convinced none other than yourself was head and tail of the
affair," remarked Mr. Neeven, in the same cool, sarcastic manner. "I
think you must be finding by this time that Vikinging, otherwise
burglary, doesn't fit in with modern civilisation."

"And there are other things don't fit in either," retorted Yaspard
quickly; the