a thing forgotten to my nephew and me."

"Very good, sir; I'm very sorry I came," began Pringle.

"And I am not. I beg your pardon, Mr Pringle; and I am sure my nephew
is very glad to see you."

"Oh, don't say no more about it, sir; I only thought--"

"Yes, you did not quite know us simple country people," said Uncle
Richard. "There, Tom, see that your visitor has some lunch. Dinner at
the usual time, and we'll have tea at half-past seven, so as to give you
both a long afternoon. I dare say Mr Pringle will enjoy a fine day in
the country."

"I should, sir, but I've to go back."

"Plenty of time for that," said Uncle Richard; "the station fly shall be
here to take you over in time for the last train. There, you will
excuse me."

That evening, as Tom rode over to the station with his visitor, and just
before he said good-bye, Pringle rubbed away very hard at his damaged
hat, but in vain, for the breakage still showed, and exclaimed--

"I don't care, sir, I won't believe it."

"Believe what, Pringle?"

"As them two's brothers, sir. It's against nature. Look here, I
wouldn't have it at first, but he was quite angry, and said I must, and
that I was to take it as a present from you."

"What is it?" said Tom; "a letter?"

"Yes, sir, to your uncle's lawyer, asking him as a favour to try and get
me work."

"Then you'll get it, Pringle," cried Tom.

"That I shall, sir. And look here, cheque on his banker for
five-and-twenty pounds, as he would make me have, to be useful till I
get a fresh clerkship. Now, ought I to take it, Mr Thomas?"

"Of course," cried Tom. "There, in with you. Good-night, Pringle,
good-night."

"But ought I to take that cheque, Mr Thomas? because I didn't earn it,
and didn't want to," cried Pringle, leaning out of the carriage window;
"Ought I to keep it, sir?"

"Yes," cried Tom, as the train moved off, and he ran along the platform,
"to buy a new hat."

CHAPTER FIFTY THREE.

"And you did not know anything about it, Pete?" said Tom one day, as he
sat beside the lad in Mother Warboys' cottage, while the old woman kept
on going in and out, muttering to herself, and watching them uneasily.

Pete looked very thin and hollow-cheeked, but for the first time perhaps
for many years his face was perfectly clean, and his hair had been
clipped off very short; while now, after passing through a phase of
illness which had very nearly had a fatal result, he was slowly gaining
stre