"Oh, I say, Edwards, you _are_ a
brick, you know. I have been hard up lately, and he has not had a rat
for ever so long. You won't mind my letting them out for him, will you?
You see, I should like him to think it was I who gave him the treat, if
you don't mind."

Edwards had no objection to become a party to this innocent deception,
and the cage of rats was brought out from some mysterious place where
there was an unlimited supply of those vermin. Whereupon every
individual dog in the establishment went off his head with excitement,
and began barking and tearing at his chain in a manner to soften the
hardest heart. That rats should be so near and yet so far! The
building, which was once a stable, had been fitted up expressly as an
arena, where dogs might exhibit their prowess, and thither the cage was
now carried by Stubbs, Topper going almost the whole way on his hind-
legs, with his nose close to the wires. Considering the amount of
excitement the entertainment did not last long; the rats were turned out
into the arena, where Topper pounced upon them one after the other with
a nip and a shake which was at once fatal. In a couple of minutes there
were six fewer rats in the world, and Topper was extremely anxious to
diminish the number still further. Doctor Johnson, the compiler of the
dictionary, said he had never in his life had as many peaches and
nectarines as he could eat, and that was Topper's feelings with regard
to rats. Edwards did not enjoy the spectacle quite as much as he felt
that he ought. Besides, he was engaged in desperate efforts to light
his cigar. Match after match did he burn, sucking away all the time
like a leech, but no smoke came into his mouth.

"Let us go into the orchard and finish the beer," said Saurin.

The orchard was surrounded by so thick a hedge that it was just as
private as the yard. A cobby horse was cropping the grass, an
ungroomed, untrimmed animal, very much better than he looked, his
master, for reasons of his own, being as anxious to disguise his merits
as most proprietors of the noble animal are to enhance them as much as
possible. There were possibilities of recreation here, though they were
somewhat of a low order. Quoits hung up on several large nails driven
into a wall, and there was a covered skittle alley. For there were a
good many small farmers of the class just above that of the a labourer
in the neighbourhood, and some of them frequented Slam's, an