"When are you going to your uncle's?" asked Holt. "I suppose you _are_
going some day before Christmas."

"On Saturday, to stay till Sunday night," said Hugh.

"And Proctor goes too, I suppose?"

"Yes; of course, Phil goes too."

"Anybody else?"

"We are each to take one friend, just for Saturday, to come home at
night."

"Oh? Then, you will take me. You said you would."

"Did I? That must have been a long time ago."

"But you did say so,--that, whenever you went, you would ask leave to
take me."

"I don't remember any such thing. And I am going to take Dale this
time. I have promised him."

Holt cried with vexation. Dale was always in his way. Hugh cared for
nobody but Dale; but Dale should not go to Mr Shaw's till he had had
his turn. He had been promised first, and he would go first. He would
speak to Mrs Watson, and get leave to go and tell Mrs Shaw, and then
he was sure Mr Shaw would let him go.

Hugh was very uncomfortable. He really could not remember having made
this promise: but he could not be sure that he had not. He asked Holt
if he thought he should like to be in people's way, to spoil the holiday
by going where he was not wished for; but this sort of remonstrance did
not comfort Holt at all. Hugh offered that he should have the very next
turn, if he would give up now.

"I dare say! And when will that be? You know on Sunday it will want
only nineteen days to the holidays; and you will not be going to your
uncle's again this half-year. A pretty way of putting me off!"

Then, as if a sudden thought had struck him, he cried,--

"But Proctor has to take somebody."

"Yes; Phil takes Tooke. They settled that a week ago."

"Oh! Can't you ask him to take me?"

"No; I shall not meddle with Phil. Besides, I am glad he has chosen
Tooke. Tooke behaved well to me about the sponge that day. Tooke has
some spirit."

This put Holt in mind of the worst of his adventures since he came to
Crofton, and of all the miseries of being shunned as a tell-tale. He
cried so bitterly as to touch Hugh's heart. As if thinking aloud, Hugh
told him that he seemed very forlorn, and that he wished he would find a
friend to be intimate with. This would make him so much happier as he
had no idea of; as he himself had found since he had had Dale for a
friend.

This naturally brought out a torrent of reproaches, which was followed
by a hot argument; Holt insisting that Hugh ought to have been hi