est sign of reverence for the service in which
they were engaged.

He was sorry to see that Tom Drift was laughing and whispering with his
companions; entertaining them with an account of the way in which he had
set the new "young un's" watch to rights, and what a shave they had from
being shut out from prayers. (Charlie wondered, as he noticed all this,
whether, after all, he would have lost much good if that misfortune had
happened.) And one or two boys were chewing toffee; at least, Charlie
thought it must be toffee, their mouths were so brown, and they made
such a noise over the process of mastication; some, with their hands in
their pockets, were listlessly staring up at the roof; and some were
reading books, anything but prayer-books, under the desk.

Charlie did his best to attend to what the invisible and inarticulate
voice was saying, and tried to recall what his father had told him about
not letting new scenes and new companions tempt him to forget of neglect
the lessons of duty and religion which he had learned at his parents'
home; but it was not easy work, and to him it was a relief when all was
over, and the boys proceeded to file out of the chapel.

"Where are they all going?" he inquired, turning round to where Tom
Drift had been standing.

That young man, however, was no longer there. He had gone off to enjoy
the questionable luxury of roast potatoes in a friend's study, entirely
forgetting his young and forlorn charge.

Charlie was puzzled. He was sure he could never find his way back to
Mrs Packer's through such a maze of passages, and he knew not where
else to go.

As he stood watching in despair the last remnant of his fellow-
worshippers passing out, and wondering what was to become of him, he
became aware of two big boys stopping in front of him and looking at
him.

"That's him!" said one, whose grammar was perhaps not his strongest
point at this moment.

"Why, he's only a kid!" said the other, who, being sixteen, felt fully
justified in so designating my young master.

"I can't help that, I know it's him," said the first.

"I say, you fellow," added he, addressing Charlie, "wasn't it you drove
up to the front door in a cab this afternoon?"

Charlie trembled in his shoes. More than once had his heart misgiven
him, he had committed an unpardonable offence in the mode of his advent
to Randlebury; and now, with these two awful accusers before him, he
felt as if his doom was come.