ted and yawned and opened
his eyes, looked about for his pipe, inspected the rug on his knees,
took his, feet off the hassock, and finally realised where he was.

"I was nigh 'andy asleep that time," said he, rummaging in his pocket
for a lucifer.

"It's all right; we were doing our prep, you know. Now we've got to be
called over. If you stick here, we'll be back in a jiffy, and then
we'll take you to see the shop," said Wally.

"Thank'ee kindly," said the guest; "don't put yourselves about for me.
Take your time, young gents."

"We shan't be long. I say, wait for us, won't you? Don't you go out
with any other chaps. They ain't in it, you know."

"I ain't a-going with nobody, don't you make no mistake," was the
visitor's satisfactory assurance.

They had some thoughts about locking him in, to make sure of him, but
decided to trust his parole, and trooped down impatiently to call-over,
binding one another to assemble at the shop immediately afterwards,
whither Wally and Percy were to conduct their guest.

To the satisfaction of these young gentlemen, the bird was safely in his
cage when they returned, dimly visible through the smoke, looking at the
pictures in the illustrated paper. He meekly obeyed their summons,
relieving their embarrassment somewhat by putting his pipe away in his
pocket as he rose.

"Where's the rest of the pals?" asked he.

"Down at the shop. It's not the regular hour, you know. But we can get
in with the key. Come along, Mr Rollitt."

The old Watch-Tower, which, as the reader knows, is the oldest remaining
portion of Fellsgarth, was rather an imposing-looking edifice for so
mundane an establishment as the School shop. The shop, indeed, occupied
only a small apartment on the ground floor, which had previously been
used as a porter's lodge, the remainder of the structure, including the
disused belfry and watch-turret, being abandoned to the owls and ghosts
and ivy, which accorded best with the ancient traditions of the place.

Mr Rollitt, whose profession sharpened his observation for specimens of
bygone achievements in his own line of business, noted the venerable
exterior before him with admiration.

"That there bit of bricks and mortar," said he, "warn't built
yesterday."

"Oh, it's millions of years old," said Wally; "but our shop, you know,
has only just been started."

"They don't make copin's like them to-day," repeated Mr Rollitt.

"We go in for good grub cheap,"