ne hand and a birch in the other,
appeared at the entrance, followed by good kind Mrs Jones, the
housekeeper. Every one scuttled away to their beds as fast as they
could go, except Alick Murray and Terence. Murray was the first Rowley
laid hands on, and, putting down his candle on the mantelpiece, he was
about to make use of his birch. Murray disdained to utter a word which
might inculpate others, and I knew he would have received a flogging
without complaint, but Terence cried out, "No, no, it wasn't him--I was
one of them--flog me if you like."

"Well, get into bed," answered Rowley, in a voice which did not sound as
if he was very angry. "You two have the spoils upon you, however;"
saying this, he went to the beds of Bully Pigeon and the other big
fellow, and gave them as sound a flogging as they ever had in their
lives, while Mrs Jones retired to a little distance, though I believe
she always came in the hopes of softening the vigour of the master's
arm. He went round to the other rooms, and treated the rest of the
culprits in the same way, and we had reason to suspect that he had
watched the whole party as they returned from their marauding
expedition. All the culprits were sent to Coventry the next day for a
week, except Terence, who had however led the expedition, though he did
not plan it. "I have great respect for the person who is not afraid to
call a thief a thief, or a lie by its right name," said Rowley not long
afterwards, looking significantly at Terence.

Time sped on, we were getting up in the school, new boys were coming and
old ones were going away, when the first night after our return from the
Christmas holidays, we all lay awake talking of our adventures.

"This is my last half," said Jack; "I've made up my mind to be a sailor,
and my father says I may; and an admiral, a friend of ours, has promised
to get me a ship; and so it's all settled, and I'm going."

"Are you, old fellow? how capital!" exclaimed Terence. "I've been asked
if I would go to sea, and I said yes; for there's nothing else I want to
do that I know of, but I little thought you would be going too. Well,
that is good, and clenches the matter."

"I am very glad to hear it," cried Murray; "it is what I have been
longing to do for years past, almost since I could read. The only
profession I felt that I should ever like was the navy, but I never saw
a chance till these holidays of being able to go into it. I believe it
is