muttering to himself as he paused beside the
Marble Arch at Hyde Park, and leaned his head against the railings of
that structure; "Mr Auberly has been an' ordered two boys to be sent to
him to-morrow forenoon--ha! he! sk!" (the chuckling got the better of
him here)--"very good. An' my mother has ordered one o' the boys to go,
while a tall fireman has ordered the other. Now, the question is, which
o' the two boys am I--the _one_ or the _t'other_--ha! sk! ho! Well, of
course, _both_ o' the boys will go; they can't help it, there's no
gittin' over that; but, then, which of 'em will git the situation?
There's a scruncher for you, Mr Auberly. You'll have to fill your
house with tar an' turpentine an' set fire to it over again 'afore
you'll throw light on _that_ pint. S'pose I should go in for _both_
situations! It _might_ be managed. The first boy could take a
well-paid situation as a clerk, an the second boy might go in for
night-watchman at a bank." (Chuckling again interrupted the flow of
thought.) "P'raps the two situations might be got in the same place o'
business; that would be handy! Oh! if one o' the boys could only be a
girl, _what_ a lark that would--sk! ha! ha!"

He was interrupted at this point by a shoe-black, who remarked to his
companion:

"I say, Bob, 'ere's a lark. 'Ere's a feller bin an got out o' Bedlam, a
larfin' at nothink fit to burst hisself!"

So Willie resumed his walk with a chuckle that fully confirmed the
member of the black brigade in his opinion.

He went home chuckling and went to bed chuckling, without informing his
mother of the cause of his mirth. Chuckling he arose on the following
morning, and, chuckling still, went at noon to Beverly Square, where he
discovered Mr Auberly standing, gaunt and forlorn, in the midst of the
ruins of his once elegant mansion.

CHAPTER SIX.

"WHEN ONE IS ANOTHER WHO IS WHICH?"

"Well, boy, what do you want? Have you anything to say to me?"

Mr Auberly turned sharp round on Willie, whose gaze had gone beyond the
length of simple curiosity. In fact, he was awe-struck at the sight of
such a very tall and very dignified man standing so grimly in the midst
of such dreadful devastation.

"Please, sir, I was sent to you, sir, by--"

"Oh, you're the boy, the son of--that is to say, you were sent to me by
your mother," said Mr Auberly with a frown.

"Well, sir," replied Willie, hesitating, "I--I--was sent by--by--"

"Ah, I see," inter