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altogether unnecessary. There had been a cut, evidently rather deep, across the side and outside of his forefinger, just reaching to the next finger. The latter was quite healed, the other nearly so; and the verdict of the self-constituted jury was unanimous.

DETECTION.

1."

"No, no, Pettit; no private thrashing here. Kick him out; aye, with your feet too, if you like; and never speak to the mean hound again." Three or four kicks reached him as he made his hasty escape from the room, and it is hardly needful to add that his departure from the school was not long delayed.

The return match was played in due time. Bob was now regularly installed as one of the eleven, and did good service, both with the bat and in the place in the field which he had before occupied. Indeed, after the match, Pettit was heard to say that he would make a good wicket keeper with another year's practice. The match was certainly a better contested one than the former had been; but still the result had hardly been doubtful at any period of the game. Sunbury scored eighty-seven the first innings, and seventy-eight the second. Elmdon made 121 the first score, and had five wickets to go down the second innings. Bob and Pettit carried out their bats at the close of the game, having contributed

no less than seventy-seven runs in all to the day's score. Soon after this the school broke up for the half-year, and after a kind leave-taking of the Doctor, Bob and Jack found themselves en route for Mr. Spencer's, in acceptance of the invitation he had given them on the occasion of his visit to Elmdon.

CHAPTER XIV.

Beginning of the Holidays-Dunchester and its Castle-Roman Bank-Hareborough-Cuckoo's Eggs-Nuthatches.

THE two boys in due time reached Dunchester Station. Here they found Mr. Spencer waiting for them, and very little time elapsed before they and their carpet-bags were rattling along behind that gentleman's pretty grey ponies towards the old town. Steep North-street soon brought the ponies to a walk, and then, on turning into Highstreet, the old Collegiate Church met their view; passing which they came in sight of Dunchester Castle, an ancient fortress, and wearing a rather extraordinary appearance, from its construction, in great part, of old Roman materials, under the guidance of Norman art. Mr. Spencer told the lads to get out here and take a look round the old building, which, he said, was worth their attention.

Jack-who, if anything, had got to be rather more "up" in antiquities than Bob, by the help

of the books Dr. Noble had lent him, and from the interest which they powerfully exercised over his imagination-at once observed a very unusual

appearance.

"Here is a trench," said he, "almost close to the Castle, which I am sure is only the keep of the original fortress, and there never could have been a moat here then."

Mr. Spencer, pleased with the lad's intelligence, explained that there was no uncertainty as to the origin of the seeming moat. The place had been occupied by the Royalists in the Great Rebellion, and was a position of great importance to them, as commanding much of the surrounding district; and, consequently, additional fortifications had been thrown up round the old Castle, which process, among other similar results, had led to the seeming moat which lay before them. Other traces of the entrenchments were very noticeable in the adjoining gardens, though now separated from the Castle yard by the garden wall. The place had been so strong, and of such importance, that at last Cromwell himself had come to try and effect its reduction; and eventually he had succeeded, but not until starvation and the utter impossibility of succour from without had rendered it equally impossible and foolish to attempt to continue the defence. Mr. Spencer went on to tell

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the boys of Roman remains in and about Dunchester, mentioning especially a tesselated pavement of great beauty, and nearly perfect, which had been dug upon, in the outskirts of the town, on the site of what subsequent researches had supplied good reason for believing to have been a Prætorial residence. The name of this place-by which it had been known long before the discovery of these remains; indeed, time out of mind —justified the impression that it had been a place of importance in the Roman history of the island. It was called Roman Bank.

"We shall pass it," said Mr. Spencer, "as we drive home."

By this time they were in the carriage again; and, turning out of the main street, he pointed out to the lads remains of another description, themselves testifying-as the Castle did―to the remains of a still earlier period, through the Roman bricks plentifully wrought into the interlacing arches of a large fragment of a Norman conventual building, of great and elaborate beauty. "St. Beowulph's Priory," Mr. Spencer called it.

Jack immediately began to cross-question him as to the extent of the original building, its mag. nitude, date, what part of it the existing remains were supposed to have been, and so on;

T