ter of most of the stories. Was the guard hoaxing him?
He couldn't help hoping that they were true. It's very odd how almost
all English boys love danger; you can get ten to join a game, or climb
a tree, or swim a stream, when there's a chance of breaking their
limbs or getting drowned, for one who'll stay on level ground, or in
his depth, or play quoits or bowls.[57]

[57] #Quoits or bowls#: quoits are iron rings pitched at short
stakes set in the ground. Bowls are tenpins.

THE RUNNERS.

The guard had just finished an account of a desperate fight which had
happened at one of the fairs between the drovers and the farmers with
their whips, and the boys with cricket-bats and wickets,[58] which
arose out of a playful but objectionable practice of the boys going
round to the public houses and taking the linch-pins out of the wheels
of the gigs, and was moralizing upon the way in which the Doctor,
"a terrible stern man he'd heard tell," had come down upon several
of the performers, "sending three on 'em off next morning, each in a
po-chay[59] with a parish constable," when they turned a corner and
neared the milestone, the third from Rugby. By the stone two boys
stood, their jackets buttoned tight, waiting for the coach.

[58] #Wickets#: stakes which are driven into the ground as a
mark for the ball in playing cricket.

[59] #Po-chay#: a post-chaise; a hired chaise.

"Look here, sir," says the guard, after giving a sharp toot-toot,
"there's two on 'em, out and out runners they be. They comes out about
twice or three times a week, and spurts a mile alongside of us."

And as they came up, sure enough, away went two boys along the
footpath, keeping up with the horses; the first a light, clean-made
fellow going on springs, the other, stout and round shouldered,
laboring in his pace, but going as dogged as a bull-terrier.

Old Blow-hard looked on admiringly. "See how beautiful that there un
holds hisself together, and goes from his hips, sir," said he; "he's a
'mazin' fine runner. Now many coachmen as drives a first-rate team'd
put it on and try and pass 'em. But Bob, sir, bless you, he's
tender-hearted; he'd sooner pull in a bit if he see'd 'em a gettin'
beat. I do b'lieve, too, as that there un'd sooner break his heart
than let us go by him afore next milestone."

At the second milestone the boys pulled up short, and waved their
hats to the guard, who had his watch out and shouted "4.56," thereb