at. He did have one, and singed all
his hair off, and blew out his libery window."

"Tom!"

"Coming, uncle."

"Don't you say a word to him, sir, please."

"Oh, no; all right, David; and next time the people say anything to you
about uncle's experiments, you tell them they're a pack of bull-geese!"

"Bull-geese!" said David, turning the word over two or three times as if
he liked it, "bull-geese! Yes, sir, I will," and he began to chuckle,
while Tom joined his uncle, who was already on his way to the mill.

As Tom reached the lane he was just in time to meet Pete Warboys, who
came slouching along with his hands as far down in his pockets as he
could reach, his boots, two sizes too large, unlaced, and his dog close
behind him.

Pete's body went forward as if all together, but his eyes were on the
move the while, searching in every direction as if for prey, and settled
upon Tom with a peculiarly vindictive stare, while the dog left his
master's side, and began to sniff at Tom's legs.

"Not afraid of you now," thought the boy, as he remembered the
fir-cones, and felt sure that a stone would send the dog flying at any
time. But as he met Pete's eye he did not feel half so sure. For Pete
was big-boned and strong, and promised to be an ugly customer in a
battle.

"And besides, he's so dirty," thought Tom, as he passed on to the gate,
through which his uncle had just passed.

Pete said nothing until Tom had closed the gate. Then there was the
appearance of a pair of dirty hands over the coping of the wall, the
scraping noise made by a pair of boot toes against the bricks, and next
Pete's head appeared just above the wall, and he uttered the
comprehensive word expressive of his contempt, defiance, and general
disposition to regard the boy from London as an enemy whose head he felt
disposed to punch. Pete's word was--

"Yah!"

Tom felt indignant.

"Get down off that wall, sir!" he cried.

This roused Pete Warboys, who, as the daring outlaw of Furzebrough,
desired to play his part manfully, especially so since he was on the
other side of the said wall; and, wrinkling up his snub nose, he cried--

"She-arn't! 'Tain't your wall."

"Get down!" cried Tom fiercely.

"Get down yerself. Who are you, I should like to know?"

Tom stooped and picked up a clod of earth, and Pete ducked his head, the
motion causing his toes to slip out of a crevice between two bricks, and
he disappeared, but only to scramble up