was not in the
humor to submit to these exactions.

In several instances he had taken these petty marauders before the
courts, and caused them to be fined; but as this course did not remove
the evil, he had taken the law in his own hands, and severely punished
some of the juvenile offenders. For this reason, among the boys he was
called "Old Batterbones," which was only a slight corruption of his
real name.

Of course Richard and Sandy had no idea of being caught when they
embarked in this plundering expedition. They had taken extraordinary
precautions to prevent such a catastrophe; but the farmer was
constantly on the watch, and they had fallen into the trap which he had
set not specially for them, but for any who might invade his grounds
with malicious intent.

[Illustration: RICHARD IN TROUBLE. Page 27.]

The person who held Richard by the collar, and whose finger nails had
already left their marks upon his neck, was no less a person than "Old
Batterbones" himself; and from the manner in which he shook his
prisoner, he seemed determined to make good his title to the sobriquet
the boys had given him. The person who held Sandy in his grasp was the
farmer's foreman, who fully sympathized with his employer in his views
of discipline.

Richard struggled, and Sandy struggled; but they might as well have
attempted to escape from the grip of an iron vise. The farmer and his
man held them fast; and the more their prisoners squirmed, the more
they shook them, and the more they seemed to enjoy the satisfaction of
shaking and choking them.

"We've caught you, my lads," said Mr. Batterman several times.

"Let go of me," growled Richard, his anger fully aroused by the rough
treatment he was receiving.

"I'll let go, you young villain, when I've done with you, but not
before. I'll teach you to steal my melons; and then you can go home and
tell your father how it is done," replied the farmer, as he twisted the
cravat of the poor boy till he could hardly breathe.

Sandy, finding that any violent resistance was hopeless, submitted to
his fate with the best grace he could command; but he only waited his
chance for something to turn up that would afford him an opportunity to
escape. He intended to use his wits, rather than his muscle, on this
occasion; and his prudence saved him from some portion of the hard
usage that was bestowed upon his companion in misery.

"Keep cool, Dick," said he, in a low tone, when he saw that h