ll-tempered fellow, who, instead of trying to make up
for the past, now that the opportunity had been given him to amend and
begin a new life, evidently looked upon himself as ill-used, and avoided
everybody.

There were a certain number of slips printed from copperplate and pasted
upon cardboard at Dr Dunham's, all consisting of good, sterling advice
to the young, which the boys had had to copy over and over again, so as
to get in the habit of writing a good, clear, round hand, with fine
upstrokes and good, firm downstrokes; and one of them which Nic had well
in mind was, "Judge not rashly." But Nic did judge rashly all the same.

One day he took his gun with the intention of shooting a specimen of the
lovely Blue Mountain parrot or lory, and this he meant to skin and
preserve. He had seen the birds in flocks when out without his gun, and
stood entranced at the beauty of the little creatures, with their
breasts gleaming with scarlet, crimson, orange, and purple mingled in
the most wonderful way, while their heads were of a peachy blue, and
wings and backs, right to the end of their long tails, of a lovely
green.

He had taken some of the smallest shot, so as not to damage the plumage;
and after a warning from Mrs Braydon to be careful, he was crossing the
enclosure beyond the garden toward a field where he could hear Brookes's
voice raised in a loud, bullying tone.

Directly after he came upon old Samson, who was wheeling manure in a
barrow made of half a barrel cut lengthwise, and furnished with a couple
of good sound poles, nailed on so that two ends formed the widely apart
handles the other two being fitted with iron, which drew them together
and secured the wheel, which was a round cut with a saw from a tree
trunk, bound with iron hooping, and looking like a single Gloucester
cheese.

"Heavy," said the old man, stopping to rest.

"What's that for?" asked Nic, who liked the old, keen, but thoroughly
amiable factotum.

"Garden, sir. Good, strong, fat stuff as'll grow anything. I'm making
a cowcumber bed."

"Not much of a barrow, Sam," said Nic.

"Well, it ain't, Master Nic, and I'd ha' made another afore now, on'y I
can't get a wheel. The master's going to get me one first chance, for
the wheel bothers me. I could make the box, but wheels want practice.
I did try to make one, and I forged a pretty good tire down yonder but
the wood part! My word, it was a rickety, wobbly one, and broke down
second