been born. Hands reached in from all sides, and helped themselves to
cakes and tarts, and coppers showered in on them from nobody could tell
where.

They found themselves handing change out into space, and sowing sweets
broadcast among the crowd.

The other directors meanwhile, as in duty bound, nobly rallied round
them, and added to their embarrassment.

"Walk up, walk up!" shouted Wally. "Try our brandy-balls, eight a
penny. Eight brandy-balls for Dalton; you chaps, look sharp. Change
for a sov. for Clapperton; beg pardon, sixpence (didn't know he kept
such small coins). Hullo, hullo! stand by for my young brother Percy!
He's just a-going to begin. Fifteen jam tarts, half a pound of
peppermints, half a dozen ginger-beer. Bite his money hard, D'Arcy; see
there are no bad 'uns. I know the chap!"

"Bah! I hope they've got better toffee here than that muck you make,"
said Percy.

"Come, wake up!" cried Cash. "I've been waiting five minutes for my
cake."

"Can't have 'em; we've run out," said D'Arcy.

"Well, you must be a green one only to get such a few," said a middle-
boy, who had also built his hopes on the same delicacy.

"Very sorry," said Percy to the company generally. "You must excuse
these chaps--raw hands--they don't know how to manage at present. Give
'em time. They'll do better; won't you, Lickford? Takes some time to
get a notion into Lickford's head, but when it gets there, my word, it
sticks. Get in a double lot of cakes to-morrow, do you hear, or I shall
give you the sack."

Despite these pleasant recriminations the business went on merrily. The
"tuck" was pronounced a great advance on anything Robert had provided,
and rumours of its excellence penetrated into quarters which had never
contributed customers to the old shop.

In the afternoon the crowd was less, but the business more steady. Mr
Stratton dropped in for a slice of cake, and Mrs Wakefield and the
three little Wakefields came to patronise the undertaking. One or two
fellows, too, sent their fags to secure "extras" for tea, and one or two
left orders for another day. Inquiries were made, moreover, for certain
articles, such as lemons, tea-cakes, etcetera, which the shopmen took a
note of as worth laying in a stock of. And the lack of demand for a few
of the things they had, suggested to the same astute young merchants
that they might be dispensed with in future.

Of course, a few boys tried to interfere with th