is
mouth close to Joel's ear, "but move lively."

No need to tell him so. In a minute they were both before the
housemaid's closet.

"Feel under," whispered the boy, with a sharp eye down the length of the
hall.

Joel's brown hands pawed among the cleaning-cloths and brushes, bringing
up in a trice the racket, Grandpapa's gift, to flourish it high.

"Take care; keep it down," said the boy in a hurried whisper.

"Oh, oh!" cried Joel, hanging to it in a transport.

"Um," the boy nodded. "Hush, be still. Now skip for your room."

"Beresford," said Joel, his black eyes shining as he paused a breathing
space before rushing back to Davie, the new racket gripped fast, "if I
don't pay Jenk for this!"

"Do." Tom grinned all over his face in great delight; "you'll be a
public benefactor," and he softly beat his hands together.

II THE TENNIS MATCH

Joel, hugging his recovered tennis racket, rushed off to the court. Tom
Beresford, staring out of his window, paused while pulling on his
sweater to see him go, a sorry little feeling at his heart, after all,
at Joe's good spirits.

"He'll play like the mischief, and a great deal better for the row and
the fright over that old racket. Well, I had to tell. 'Twould have been
too mean for anything to have kept still."

So he smothered a sigh, and got into his togs, seized his implements of
battle, and dashed off too. Streams of boys were rushing down to the
court, and the yard was black with them. In the best places were the
visitors. Royalty couldn't have held stronger claims to distinction in
the eyes of Dr. Marks' boys; and many were the anxious glances sent over
at the four St. Andrew's boys. If the playing shouldn't come up to the
usual high mark!

"Pepper will score high," one after another said as he dropped to the
ground next to his chums, in the circle around the court.

"Of course." Nobody seemed to doubt Joel's powers along that line. "He
always does." And cries of "Pepper--Pepper," were taken up, and
resounded over the yard.

Joel heard it as he dashed along, and he held his head high, well
pleased. But David followed his every movement with anxiety. "I'm afraid
he was hurt," he said to himself; "and if he should lose the game, he'd
never get over it. Oh dear me! if Mamsie could only be here!"

But Mamsie was far away from her boys, whom she had put at Dr. Marks'
school for the very purpose of achieving self-reliance and obedience to
the training o