t be so engrossed either in their newly-healed alliance,
or in the affliction of their friend, as to be unaware of the commotion
at their heels. And it was not till Dick had ordered the foremost of
the procession to "hook it," enforcing his precept by one or two
impartially-distributed samples of his "postman's knock," that it dawned
on the Den there was to be no fight after all.

Whereupon they yapped off in disgust, with their noses in the air, in
search of some better sport.

Left to themselves, our heroes, with a strange mixture of joy and
anxiety in their hearts, broke into a trot, and presently sighted Coote.

That unhappy youth, little dreaming of the revolution which his scrape
was destined to effect in Templeton, was still sitting where Dick had
left him, ruefully meditating on his near prospect of incarceration.
The vision of Dick and Heathcote advancing upon him by no means tended
to allay the tumult of his feelings.

"I'm in for it now," groaned he to himself. "They're both going to
pitch into me for telling the other. What a mule I was ever to come to
Templeton."

But Dick's first words dispelled these gloomy forebodings effectually.

"Keep your pecker up, old man, Georgie and I are both going to back you
up. We'll pull you through somehow."

"I've got ten bob," said Georgie. "That's twenty-seven-and-six.
Perhaps he'll let you off the other half-crown."

Considering he had not abstracted the pencil at all, Coote inwardly
thought Mr Webster might forego this small balance, and be no loser.
And he half-hinted as much.

"It's an awful shame," said he, "not to believe my word. I really don't
see why we ought to stump up at all."

But this proposal by no means suited his ardent backers-up, who looked
upon the whole affair as providential, and by no means to be burked.

"Bound to do it," said Dick decisively. "Things look ugly against you,
you know, and it would be a terrible business if you got locked up. It
would cost less to square Webster then to bail you out; wouldn't it,
Georgie?"

"Rather!" said Georgie. "Besides, it looks awkward if it gets out that
you've been to prison.--Our 'Firm' oughtn't to get mixed up in that sort
of mess."

After this, Coote resigned all pretensions to the further direction of
his own defence, and left his case unreservedly in the hands of his two
honest partners.

They decided that very evening, with or without leave, to go down with
the twenty-seven-an