Andrew's potatoes, the consternation was extreme. It
was Nancy who saw him, as she sat one morning learning a French verb,
and staring meanwhile absently out of the schoolroom window. Her
expression changed suddenly from utter vacancy to keen interest, and her
monotonous murmur of "J'ai, Tu as, Il a," to a shout of, "Oh, Davie,
there's Antony in the garden!"

"Nancy," said Miss Grey severely, "you know it is against rules to talk
in lesson time. Be quiet."

"But I can't really, Miss Grey," said Nancy, craning her neck to get a
better view of the culprit; "he's poking up the potatoes like anything.
Andrew _will_ be so cross. You'd better just let us go and chase him
back again."

The excitement had now risen so high that Miss Grey felt this would
really be the best plan, for attention to lessons seemed impossible, and
soon the four children were rushing helter-skelter across the garden in
pursuit of Antony. With a frisk of his tail and a squeak of defiance he
led the chase in fine style, choosing Andrew's most cherished borders.
What a refreshment it was, after the tedium of French verbs and English
history, and what a pity when Antony, after a brave resistance, was at
length hustled back into his sty!

Whether the door was insecure, or not too carefully fastened after this,
remains uncertain; but it is a fact that these pig-chases came to be of
pretty frequent occurrence, and always happened, by some strange chance,
during school hours. The cry of, "Pig out!" and the consequent rush of
children in pursuit, at last reached such a pitch that both Miss Grey
and the much-tried Andrew made complaint to the vicar. Miss Grey
declared that discipline was becoming impossible, and Andrew that there
would not be a "martal vegetable in the garden if Master David's pig got
out so often." Then the vicar made a rule to this effect:

"If David's pig is seen in the garden again, it goes back that same day
to Farmer Hatchard."

The vicar's rules were not things to be disregarded, and his threats
were always carried out. David and Ambrose might have been seen with a
large hammer and nails very busy at the pig-sty that afternoon, and
Antony's visits to the garden ceased, until one unlucky occasion when
David was away from home, and it fell out in the following manner:--

In the cathedral town of Nearminster, ten miles from Easney, lived
Pennie's godmother Miss Unity Cheffins, and it was Mr and Mrs
Hawthorn's custom to pay