half an hour longer--till the sun comes out."

"No, you sha'n't," cried Dick, seizing the pillow for a weapon of
offence. "If you do, I'll bang you out of bed again."

"If you dare to touch me," cried Arthur furiously, "I shall complain to
papa."

"And he'll laugh at you," said Dick; "and serve you right."

Arthur snatched off his lower garment with the obstinacy of a
half-asleep individual, and scrambled into bed again, dragging the
clothes up over his chest, and scowling defiantly at his brother, as if
saying, "Touch me if you dare."

"There's a stupid, obstinate, lazy old pig," cried Dick, throwing the
pillow at him and standing rubbing one ear. "Here--hi, Will!" he said,
going to the window, "come round and upstairs. Here's a seal in his
cave asleep. Come and let's tug him out."

"He had better not dare to come into my bed-room," cried Arthur,
punching the pillow thrown at him viciously, and settling down in his
place; not that he wanted more rest, but out of dislike to being
disturbed, and from a fit of morning ill-temperedness getting the upper
hand.

Just then Dick was leaning out of the window half-dressed, and with his
braces hanging down as if they were straps to haul him back in case he
leaned too far.

Arthur glanced at his brother for a moment and then shouted:

"Here, Dick, shut that window!"

Dick evidently did not hear him, and a low giggling laugh reached his
ears.

"They had better not try to play any tricks with me," said Arthur to
himself, as he lay frowning and feeling very much dissatisfied, as he
thought, with Dick, but really with himself.

Then he heard more laughing, the sound of steps in the garden, and
something thump against the wall of the house.

There was no mistake now about Arthur's wakefulness, as he lay with the
clothes drawn right above his nose; one eye glanced at the window, and
he breathed quickly with indignation as Dick drew a little on one side
to make room for Will, who had obtained the short ladder used by his
uncle to nail up his creepers, and placed it against the wall, and he
was now on the top with his jersey-covered arms resting on the
window-sill, and his sun-browned face above them looking in.

"Good-morning, sir!" he said merrily. "Want anybody to help you dress?"

"How dare you!" cried Arthur indignantly. "Go away, and shut that
window directly. It's disgraceful. We had no business to come to such
a place as this," he continued, forgetting