ell me how you get on.
Brother Solomon here never likes to leave his glass-houses, but you can
get away now and then. Eh, Solomon?"

"P'r'aps," said Brother Solomon, looking right away from us. "We shall
see."

My heart sank as I saw how cold and unsympathetic he seemed. I felt
that I should never like him, and that he would never like me. He had
hardly looked at me, but when he did there was to me the appearance in
his eyes of his being a man who hated all boys as nuisances and to make
matters worse, he took his eyes off a bed of onions to turn them
suddenly on his brother and say:

"Hadn't he better go and make up his bundle?"

"Yes, to be sure," said Old Brownsmith. "Go and tell Mrs Dodley you
want your clean clothes, my boy; and tell her my brother Solomon's going
to have a bit with us."

"And see whether your boy has given my horse his oats, will you?" said
Brother Solomon.

I went away, feeling very heavy-hearted, and found Shock in the stable,
in the next stall to old Basket, watching a fine stoutly-built cob that
had just been taken out of a light cart. The horse's head-stall had
been taken off, and a halter put on; and as he munched at his oats,
Shock helped him, munching away at a few that he took from one hand.

I was in so friendly a mood to every one just then that I was about to
go up and shake hands with Shock; but as soon as he saw me coming he
dived under the manger, and crept through into old Basket's stall, and
then thrust back his doubled fist at me, and there it was being shaken
menacingly, as if he were threatening to punch my head.

This exasperated me so that in an instant the honey within me was turned
to vinegar, and I made a rush round at him, startling our old horse so
that he snorted and plunged; but I did not catch Shock, for he dived
back through the hole under the manger into the next stall. Then on
under the manger where Brother Solomon's horse was feeding, making him
start back and nearly break his halter, while Shock went on into the
third stall, disturbing a hen from the nest she had made in the manger,
and sending her cackling and screaming out into the yard, where the cock
and the other hens joined in the hubbub.

As I ran round to the third stall I was just in time to see Shock's legs
disappearing, as he climbed up the perpendicular ladder against the
wall, and shot through the trap-door into the hay-loft.

"You shall beg my pardon before I go," I said between my