Solomon objected. Possibly he understood what
had been said. At all events he stood fast, and refused to move till,
in obedience to a call from his friend, Tom took hold of the bridle and
dragged, while Dick made a sudden rush behind, as if to deliver a
tremendous kick.

Solomon sighed and consented to move, and, evidently considering himself
mastered, he became amiable, made a playful attempt to bite, and then
started off at a canter.

"Jump on, Tom!" cried Dick.

The lad wanted no second invitation, but scuffled on to the donkey's
back as it went on, and the trio trotted along for about a hundred
yards.

"Where shall we go?" cried Tom.

"Straight on. Let's see how Mr Marston's getting along. Here, you
ride on to the alders' corner and tie up Sol, and then go on."

"I say: here's the constable coming." Dick looked back and frowned.

"There, I told you so!" he cried. "It doesn't matter what I do, that
man watches me."

"He's only going for a walk."

"Going for a walk!" cried Dick fiercely; "he's following me. You'll see
he'll keep to me all the time. I should like to serve him out."

Tom was going to say something else, but his words were jerked out at
random, and the next died away, for, as if he approved of the smell of
the salt-sea air, Solomon suddenly whisked his tail, uttered a squeak,
and after a bound went off at a tremendous gallop, stretching out like a
greyhound, and showing what speed he possessed whenever he liked to put
it forth.

The sudden spring he made produced such comical effects that Dick
Winthorpe stopped short in the rough track along the edge of the fen, to
laugh. For Tom Tallington had been seated carelessly on the donkey's
back right behind, and turned half round to talk to his companion. The
consequence was that he was jerked up in the air, and came down again as
if bound to slip off. But Tom and Dick had practised the art of riding
almost ever since they could run alone, and in their early lessons one
had ridden astride the top bar of a gate hundreds of times, while the
other swung it open and then threw it back, the great feat being to give
the gate a tremendous bang against the post, so as to nearly shake the
rider from his seat.

The jerk was unpleasant, at times even painful; but it taught the lads
to hold on with their legs, and made them better able to display their
prowess in other mounts which were tested from time to time.

They were not particular as to w