you have!" replied Brown, severely, as he left the room.

In due time he found Parson and broached the subject to him.

Parson viewed the matter in very much the same light as Telson had. He
liked the "tuck-in" better than the company.

It never occurred to him it was odd that Brown should come all the way
from the schoolhouse to invite him, a Parrett's junior, to his feast;
nor did it occur to him either that the invitation put him under any
obligation to his would-be host.

"I tell you what I'll do," said he, in a business-like manner, much as
if Brown had asked him to clean out his study for him, "if you ask
Telson to come too, I'm game."

Brown half doubted whether these two allies had not been consulting
together on the subject, so startling was the similarity of their
conditions.

"Oh! Telson's coming," he said, in as offhand a way as he could.

"He is! Then I'm on, old man; rather!" exclaimed the delighted Parson.

"All right! Six-thirty, mind, and chokers!" said Brown, not a little
relieved to have scraped up two friends for the festive occasion. At
the appointed time--or rather before the appointed time, for they
arrived at twenty minutes past six--our two heroes, arrayed in their
Sunday jackets and white ties, presented themselves at the house of
their host. They had "put it on" considerably in order to get ahead of
the doctor's party; for they considered that--as Parson expressed
it--"it would be a jolly lot less blushy work" to be there before the
head master arrived. There was no doubt about their success in this
little manoeuvre, for when the servant opened the door the hall was full
of rout seats, and a man, uncommonly like the greengrocer, in a dress
coat, was busily unpacking plates out of a small hamper.

Into this scene of confusion Parson and Telson were ushered, and here
they were left standing for about five minutes, interested spectators,
till the hall was cleared and the domestic had leisure to go and tell
Master Harry of their arrival.

Master Harry was dressing, and sent down word they had better go into
the shoe-room till he came down. Which they did, and amused themselves
during the interval with trying on Mr Brown's Wellingtons, and tying
together the laces of all Harry's boots they could discover.

In due time Harry appeared in grand array. "How jolly early you are!"
was his hospitable greeting. "You said six-thirty, didn't you?" said
Telson. "Yes; it's only just that