rejoined Edward. 'But anyhow the notes and things
stopped, and so did the shillings. Bobby was fairly cornered, for he had
bought two ferrets on tick, and promised to pay a shilling a week,
thinking the shillings were going on for ever, the silly young ass. So
when the week was up, and he was being dunned for the shilling, he went
off to the fellow and said: "Your broken-hearted Bella implores you to
meet her at sundown. By the hollow oak as of old, be it only for a
moment. Do not fail!" He got all that out of some rotten book, of
course. The fellow looked puzzled and said:

'"What hollow oak? I don't know any hollow oak."

'"Perhaps it was the Royal Oak?" said Bobby promptly, 'cos he saw he had
made a slip, through trusting too much to the rotten book; but this
didn't seem to make the fellow any happier.'

'Should think not,' I said, 'the Royal Oak's an awful low sort of pub.'

'I know,' said Edward. 'Well, at last the fellow said, "I think I know
what she means: the hollow tree in your father's paddock. It happens to
be an elm, but she wouldn't know the difference. All right: say I'll be
there." Bobby hung about a bit, for he hadn't got his money. "She was
crying awfully," he said. Then he got his shilling.'

'And wasn't the fellow riled,' I inquired, 'when he got to the place and
found nothing?'

'He found Bobby,' said Edward indignantly. 'Young Ferris was a
gentleman, every inch of him. He brought the fellow another message from
Bella: "I dare not leave the house. My cruel parents immure me closely.
If you only knew what I suffer. Your broken-hearted Bella." Out of the
same rotten book. This made the fellow a little suspicious, 'cos it was
the old Ferrises who had been keen about the thing all through. The
fellow, you see, had tin.'

'But what's that got to----' I began again.

'O _I_ dunno,' said Edward impatiently. 'I'm telling you just what Bobby
told me. He got suspicious, anyhow, but he couldn't exactly call Bella's
brother a liar, so Bobby escaped for the time. But when he was in a hole
next week, over a stiff French exercise, and tried the same sort of game
on his sister, she was too sharp for him, and he got caught out. Somehow
women seem more mistrustful than men. They're so beastly suspicious by
nature, you know.'

'_I_ know,' said I. 'But did the two--the fellow and the sister--make it
up afterwards?'

'I don't remember about that,' replied Edward indifferently; 'but Bobby
got packed off to s