ad seen yesterday in the road,
under the trees; and he was now cantering away to the spot, when Phil
ran after him, and roughly stopped him, saying he would get into a fine
scrape for the first day, if he went out of bounds.

Hugh had forgotten there were such things as bounds, and was not at all
glad to be reminded of them now. He sighed as he begged Phil to show him
exactly where he might go and where he might not. Phil did so in an
impatient way, and then was off to trap-ball, because his party were
waiting for him.

The chesnut-trees overhung one corner of the playground, within the
paling: and in that corner Hugh found several chesnuts which had burst
their sheaths, and lay among the first fallen leaves. He pocketed them
with great delight, wondering that nobody had been before him to secure
such a treasure. Agnes should have some; and little Harry would find
them nice playthings. They looked good to eat too; and he thought he
could spare one to taste: so he took out his knife, cut off the point of
a fine swelling chesnut, and tasted a bit of the inside. Just as he was
making a face over it, and wondering that it was so nasty, when those
which his father roasted in the fire-shovel on Christmas-day were so
good, he heard laughter behind him, and found that he was again doing
something ridiculous, though he knew not what: and in a moment poor Hugh
was as unhappy as ever.

He ran away from the laughing boys, and went quite to the opposite
corner of the playground, where a good number of his school-fellows were
playing ball under the orchard wall. Hugh ran hither and thither, like
the rest, trying to catch the ball; but he never could do it; and he was
jostled, and thrown down, and another boy fell over him; and he was told
that he knew nothing about play, and had better move off.

He did so, with a heavy heart, wondering how he was ever to be like the
other boys, if nobody would take him in hand, and teach him to play, or
even let him learn. Remembering what his mother expected of him, he
tried to sing, to prevent crying, and began to count the pales round the
playground, for something to do. This presently brought him to a tree
which stood on the very boundary, its trunk serving instead of two or
three pales. It was only a twisted old apple-tree; but the more twisted
and gnarled it was, the more it looked like a tree that Hugh could
climb; and he had always longed to climb a tree. Glancing up, he saw a
boy alread