t's he staring
at?"

"You," said Tom bluntly.

Sam gave him a sharp look and returned to the path, bore off to his
right, and began to examine the trained fruit trees on the wall.

"Pears, peaches, nectarines, apricots, plums," said Sam coolly. "Why,
they're all green and unripe. No, they're not; here's an apricot looks
ready."

David uttered a gasp, for the young visitor stepped on to the neat
border and took hold of the yellow apricot, whose progress the gardener
had been watching for days, gave it a tug, and broke off the twig which
bore it.

"Bah!" he ejaculated, as he dragged away the twig and a wall-nail and
shred. "Why, the wretched thing isn't ripe."

He spat out the mouthful he had taken between his lips, and jerked the
bitten fruit out over the hedge into the lane.

"Well," muttered David, as the two lads went on, "I do call that
imperdence. Wonder what master would ha' said if he'd seen."

"Master" had seen his nephew's act as he came from the other side of the
field with his brother leaning upon his arm, but he made no remark
respecting it.

"You would like to have a chat now with your boy about business, eh,
James?"

"Oh, there's nothing to talk about," said Sam carelessly. "Everything
is all right. I have seen to that. I kept Pringle pretty well up to
his work."

"Poor old Pringle!" thought Tom. "I ought to write to him."

"Sam is right," said the lad's father; "and--and--oh, dear me, how weak
I feel! I don't want to be troubled about business. Take me in now,
Dick."

"Come along, then," said his brother good-humouredly. "Tom, my lad,
you'd better show your cousin about the place, and try and interest
him."

"All right, uncle," was the reply; and the two boys stood watching the
brothers going towards the house.

"I don't know that I want to be shown about," said Sam haughtily. "I'm
not a child. You country people seem to think that we want to see your
cabbages and things. Here, let's go and look at the windmill. I say,
did they have a row about it?"

"What--Uncle James and Uncle Richard?"

"Of course, stupid; who did you think I meant?"

"How could they have a row about the observatory?"

"I said windmill, stupid."

"It's an observatory now," said Tom coldly.

"Observatory! Yes; it looks it. The gov'nor was awfully wild about it.
Nice brother, he said, to go and take the legal business to some one
else instead of to our office. There, come along."

"I must