were deeply imprinted, showing that the
chair had been that way.

Now he had never been down into the pit, and only once as far as the
edge, into which he had peered from the road above, whence he had looked
down upon a colony of martins darting in and out of their holes in the
sand-cliff. He had determined to examine the place, but that morning he
was compelled to hurry back to breakfast. Now he had to explore the
depths of the pit in a very different mood; and he was not half-way down
the slope when he found that the wheels had suddenly curved off, and
then, from the marks on the smooth sand, it had evidently turned over.
And there, sixty or seventy yards away, and fully a hundred feet below
him, it lay bottom upwards, while away to its right sat its late
occupant, making signs with his stick.

Tom did not attempt to go on down the roadway, which meant quite a
journey, but began to descend at once, slipping, scrambling, falling and
rolling over in the loose sand, which gave way at every step, and took
him with it, till at last, hot and breathless, he reached the invalid's
side.

"Hurt, uncle?" he panted.

"Hurt, sir?" cried Uncle James angrily. "I'm nearly killed. I don't
think I've a whole bone left in my body. You dog! You scoundrel! You
did it on purpose. You knew it was not safe to leave that miserable,
wretched wreck of a thing. It was all out of revenge, and you wanted to
kill me."

"Oh no, uncle," cried Tom, staring in astonishment at the vigour his
uncle had displayed. For there was no moaning, no holding the hand to
the breast, and complaining of shortness of breath, but an undue display
of excitement and anger, which had made cheeks burn and eyes glisten.

"I'm very sorry, uncle; it was that young scoundrel's fault."

"I don't believe it, sir. It was a trick. Disgraceful!"

"Wait a minute, uncle, and I'll fetch the chair. I'll get it here, and
then help you up to the top before I take it up."

"Fetch the chair!" stormed James Brandon. "It's a wreck, sir; one
wheel's off, and the front one's all bent sidewise. Here, give me your
hand."

He caught hold of the extended wrist, and with that and the stick,
toiled up the steep slope, to the boy's astonishment; and when they had
reached the road, jerked the wrist from him, and walked on without a
word till they came in sight of the house, when Tom plucked up the
courage to speak.

"Really, uncle, I did not think of anything but running