d in shifting for himself.

"Ah! I see what you are thinking of," said Hugh. "I am so afraid you
should be ashamed of me again, when I come into the playground. The boys
will quiz me;--and if you are ashamed of me----"

"Oh, no, no!" earnestly declared Phil. "There is nobody in the world
that will quiz you;--or, if there is, they had better take care of me, I
can tell them. But nobody will. You don't know how sorry the boys are.
Here comes Dale. He will tell you the same thing."

Dale was quite sure that any boy would, from this time for ever, be sent
to Coventry who should quiz Hugh for his lameness. There was not a boy
now at Crofton who would not do anything in the world to help him.

"Why, Dale, how you have been crying!" exclaimed Hugh. "Is anything
wrong in school? Can't you manage your verses yet?"

"I'll try that to-night," said Dale, cheerfully. "Yes I'll manage them.
Never mind what made my eyes red; only, if such a thing had happened to
me, you would have cried,--I am sure of that."

"Yes, indeed," said Phil.

"Now, Proctor, you had better go," said Dale. "One at a time is enough
to-day; and I shall not stay long."

Phil agreed, and actually shook hands with Hugh before he went.

"Phil is so kind to-day!" cried Hugh, with glee; "though he is
disappointed of going to uncle Shaw's on my account. And I know he had
reckoned on it. Now, I want to know one thing,--where did Mr. Tooke
sleep last night? for this is his bed."

Dale believed he slept on the sofa. He was sure, at least, that he had
not taken off his clothes; for he had come to the door several times in
the course of the night, to know how all was going on.

"Why, I never knew that!" cried Hugh. "I suppose I was asleep. Dale,
what do you think is the reason that our fathers and mothers and people
take care of us as they do?"

"How do you mean?"

"Why, Agnes and I cannot make it out. When we were by the sea-side,
mother took us a great way along the beach, to a place we did not know
at all; and she bade us pick up shells, and amuse ourselves, while she
went to see a poor woman that lived just out of sight. We played till we
were quite tired; and then we sat down; and still she did not come. At
last, we were sure that she had forgotten all about us; and we did not
think she would remember us any more: and we both cried. Oh! how we did
cry! Then a woman came along, with a basket at her back, and a great net
over her arm: and she asked us what