ad
been resting, and the handle sprang up. There was a cry from Allan, and
Tom saw to his horror that one end of the iron bar had struck the boy
just above the eye. It was a painful blow, and the bruise began at once
to discolor and swell, so that by the time his father came up poor Allan
was a piteous object.

It was a most unfortunate beginning to Tom's visit. Of course his uncle
was angry, for the garden-roller was quite useless for the purpose of
rolling the field, and the ground was so hard and dry that no rolling,
even with the heaviest horse-roller, would have done any good. Allan
was very sorry for Tom, and took more than a fair share of the blame,
saying he ought to have been more careful; but he was rather distressed
when he found that he had a black eye, and that it could not be well
before the cricket match, when the boys would be sure to chaff him.

This exploit of Tom's and his uncle's anger made the boy more careful;
and all went well until the day before the cricket match, when Tom and
Allan went out for a private practice in the field.

"You aren't standing right. Your leg's before the wicket," said Allan,
as Tom stood ready, bat in hand, to receive the ball.

"Oh, I know! but it's only for practice," said Tom quickly. "Send me the
ball."

Allan bowled, Tom hit, the ball spun straight up in the air and came
down almost at Tom's feet.

"Hullo!" said Allan, pointing to the stumps; "how did you do that?"

Tom looked round and found he had knocked over the stumps. This slight
mistake having been set right, Tom was ready to start again. This time,
as the ball spun off his bat, there was a crash, and Allan exclaimed in
horror, "Oh, Father's precious orchids!" for the ball had gone through
the glass of the small greenhouse, and had overturned and injured
several cherished plants.

Poor Tom thought he had had enough of cricket for that day, and went in
to make his confession to his uncle. Allan's piteous face did more
towards softening his father than Tom's regrets, and he said very
little about the matter, though possibly he felt the more.

The next day the cricket match came off. Tom very soon found that in
playing it was necessary to have done something more than look on. He
knew little or nothing of the rules of the game, and brought disgrace on
himself, and on his cousin for having introduced so bad a player into
the village eleven. Had there been any one to take his place he would
have been tur