f the kind happens again," said Dr.
Hoxton, who was very fond of him, and did not find fault with him
willingly.

That the first inflammatory discourse had been made by Anderson did not
appear to be known--he only came in for the general reprimand given to
the school.

It was reported the following evening, just as the town boys turned
out to go to their homes, that "old Tomkins had his fence up five times
higher than before."

"Have at him again, say I!" exclaimed Axworthy. "What business has he
coming stopping up ways that were made before he was born?"

"We shall catch it from the doctor if we do," said Edward Anderson, "He
looked in no end of a rage yesterday when he talked about the credit of
the school."

"Who cares for the credit of the school?" said the elder Anderson; "we
are out of the school now--we are townsmen--Stoneborough boys--citizens
not bound to submit to injustice. No, no, the old rogue knew it would
not stand if it was brought into court, so he brings down old Hoxton on
us instead--a dirty trick he deserves to be punished for."

And there was a general shout and yell in reply.

"Anderson," said Norman, "you had better not excite them again, they are
ripe for mischief. It will go further than it did yesterday--don't you
see?"

Anderson could not afford to get into a scrape without May to stand
before him, and rather sulkily he assented.

"It is of no use to rave about old Tomkins," proceeded Norman, in his
style of popular oratory. "If it is illegal, some one will go to law
about it, and we shall have our alley again. We have shown him our mind
once, and that is enough; if we let him alone now, he will see 'tis only
because we are ordered, not for his sake. It would be just putting
him in the right, and maybe winning his cause for him, to use any more
violence. There's law for you, Anderson. So now no more about it--let us
all go home like rational fellows. August, where's August?"

Tom was not visible--he generally avoided going home with his brother;
and Norman having seen the boys divide into two or three little parties,
as their roads lay homewards, found he had an hour of light for an
expedition of his own, along the bank of the river. He had taken up
botany with much ardour, and sharing the study with Margaret was a great
delight to both. There was a report that the rare yellow bog-bean grew
in a meadow about a mile and a half up the river, and thither he was
bound, extremely enjoy