ld carpet as well. Get David to help you."

"All right, uncle."

So when breakfast was over, Tom went out and found David, who was
sticking stakes along the outside of the asparagus bed, and tying tarred
twine from one to the other, so as to keep the plume-like stems from
blowing about and breaking.

"Mornin', Master Tom," he said. "I say, my Maria Louisas are swelling
out fast. We shall soon have to be on the look-out for pear-ketchers."

"All right, David, I'll help you. I hope it is Pete Warboys. I should
like to give him stick."

"We'll give him stake instead, Master Tom."

"Never mind that now. I want you to help me move that chest of drawers
and desk out of uncle's study to the laboratory."

"Very good, sir; but you might call a spade a spade."

"What do you mean?" said Tom, staring.

"Labor hatory, sir! why don't you say windmill?"

"Because it has been made into an observatory, laboratory, and workshop
all in one," said Tom, rather stiffly.

"Just as you like, Master Tom; but you may take the sails off, and the
fan, and put all the rattle-traps in it you like, but it can't make it
anything but what it was born to be, and that was a windmill."

"Well, we won't argue," said Tom. "Come along."

He led the way to the study, where Uncle Richard was seated at a table
writing, and it being a particularly dry day, David spent about five
minutes wiping nothing off his shoes on every mat he passed, to Tom's
great amusement. Then after making a bow and a scrape to his master
which were not seen, he gave his nose a rub with his cuff, and went back
to put his hat outside the door.

"Come along, David," said Tom. "This is it."

The gardener went on tiptoe to the end of the old escritoire, stooped,
lifted it, and shook his head.

"You can't manage one end o' that, Master Tom," he said in a hoarse
whisper.

"No, too weighty," said his master; and without looking round he passed
his keys. "Take out the drawers, they're heavy, and carry them
separately."

This plan was followed out, each taking a drawer and carrying it out
through the garden, and across the lane to the yard gate, which Tom
unlocked after resting his drawer on the wall; leaving it there while he
ran up and unlocked the tower door, then going back for the load he had
left.

These two drawers were carried into the stone-floored workshop, where
the bench under the window was covered with an old blanket, another
doing duty as cover f