to write out the whole of Virgil at a sitting.

Whatever else he looked at, he always came back to this treasure; and
finally, when he became aware that Mr Westworth was about to depart, he
had almost to push it from him, in order to bring himself to the pitch
of leaving too.

He had no desire further to lacerate Mr Webster's feelings by declining
to purchase anything, and therefore quitted the shop hurriedly, not
noticing, as he did so, that the unlucky little pencil, which he had put
down with such affectionate reluctance, had shown its regret by rolling
quietly and sadly off the tray on to the counter, till it reached a gap
half-way, into which it plunged suicidally, and became lost to the light
of day.

Mr Webster, who had seen as little of the catastrophe as the boy had,
bowed his reverend guest out, and then turned to the disordered tray
with a shrug of his shoulders.

His review of its contents had not lasted half a minute when he started
and uttered an exclamation. The pencil was gone--so was Coote!

For once there was no shadow of a doubt in the honest stationer's mind;
it was as clear as daylight. No one else had been in the shop except
the curate, who had never been near the tray. Coote had; he had touched
and fingered all its contents; he had had this very pencil in his hand,
he had quitted the shop abruptly, and started running as soon as he got
outside.

Mr Webster _did_ know what two and two made, and it was quite a relief
to him to feel absolutely and positively certain he had been robbed by a
Templeton boy!

His one difficulty was that he did not remember having seen Coote
before, nor did he know his name. However, he would find him, if he had
the whole school marched one by one in front of him, and, when he had
found him, he would make an example of him.

Blissfully unconscious of the cloud on the horizon, Coote had arrived at
the school just in time for chapel. On his way out Heathcote came up
and took his arm.

"Well, old fellow," said that youth in a loud voice, which made it
perfectly clear to Coote that Dick must be somewhere within hearing,
"come and have another jolly two-hander after school, won't you? You
and I ought to be able to lick Raggles and Culver into fits now,
oughtn't we?"

"It's a wonder to me," said Dick, walking off in another direction with
Aspinall, "how Raggles and Culver play tennis at all; any fool could
lick them left-handed."

Aspinall knew better than