le sugar that was left in the cracks
an' 'oles, w'en they 'adn't bin cleaned out a'ready. Also I slep' under
railway-arches, and on door-steps. But sometimes I 'ad raither
disturbed nights, 'cause the coppers wouldn't let a feller sleep in
sitch places if they could 'elp it."

"Who are the `coppers?'" asked the good lady of the house, who listened
in wonder to Tim's narration.

"The coppers, ma'am, the--the--pl'eece."

"Oh! the police?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Where in the world did they expect you to sleep?" asked Mrs Merryboy
with some indignation.

"That's best known to themselves, ma'am," returned Tim; "p'raps we might
'ave bin allowed to sleep on the Thames, if we'd 'ad a mind to, or on
the hatmosphere, but never 'avin' tried it on, I can't say."

"Did you lead the same sort of life, Bob?" asked the farmer, who had by
that time appeased his appetite.

"Pretty much so, sir," replied Bobby, "though I wasn't quite so 'ard up
as Tim, havin' both a father and mother as well as a 'ome. But they was
costly possessions, so I was forced to give 'em up."

"What! you don't mean that you forsook them?" said Mr Merryboy with a
touch of severity.

"No, sir, but father forsook me and the rest of us, by gettin' into the
Stone Jug--wery much agin' my earnest advice,--an' mother an' sister
both thought it was best for me to come out here."

The two waifs, being thus encouraged, came out with their experiences
pretty freely, and made such a number of surprising revelations, that
the worthy backwoodsman and his wife were lost in astonishment, to the
obvious advantage of old Mrs Merryboy, who, regarding the varying
expressions of face around her as the result of a series of excellent
jokes, went into a state of chronic laughter of a mild type.

"Have some more bread and butter, and tea, Bob and some more sausage,"
said Mrs Merryboy, under a sudden impulse.

Bob declined. Yes, that London street-arab absolutely declined food!
So did Tim Lumpy!

"Now, my lads, are you quite sure," said Mr Merryboy, "that you've had
enough to eat?"

They both protested, with some regret, that they had.

"You couldn't eat another bite if you was to try, could you?"

"Vell, sir," said Bob, with a spice of the `old country' insolence
strong upon him, "there's no sayin' what might be accomplished with a
heffort, but the consikences, you know, might be serious."

The farmer received this with a thunderous guffaw, and, bidding the boys
foll