"I say, give us one-there's a good old fellow!" Willie called out to him, with a sort of mock plaintiveness in his tone, evidently not expecting that his request would be granted.

But the old man stooped down, chose five or six of the largest and rosiest from the heap of apples, and tossing one first to Willie, with a good-humoured smile upon his dry, wrinkled, old face, sent the others hap-hazard amongst the rest of us.

"Thur!" he said, with a funny kind of chuckle; “gie a bit to each on 'un--little 'uns and all. If ere a one on ee's tasted anythink ekal to they, I'll gie the 'ole lot on 'em to ee,-thur

noo!"

"Where's Miss Royce?" cried the Scamp, eagerly, as he munched away at his share of the scramble, evidently with vast relish. "I'll cut after her to know if we may buy some ; they're just splendid!"

"Smedley's gone already!" cried one or two, and almost directly after, Johnnie Harris called out,-

"And here he is coming back, too."

"Well?" was the impatient interrogation from all sides, as the messenger drew near, hot and breathless from his exertions.

"We are not to buy any to-day; we are late already, she says, and mustn't stop a minute. She's on a long way ahead; you'll have to run pretty fast to catch her up, I can tell you."

There was a general howl of disappointment at this news, but two or three of the boys set off running at once, fearful of breaking through the rule which obliged every one to be inside the school gates as soon as Miss Royce herself.

I'm going to have some,-I don't care what she says! exclaimed Sam, impatiently, swallowing, as he spoke, his last delicious morsel, which left so pleasant a taste behind it that it was impossible to resist the temptation to renew it, when the means were so close at hand, and when it was only a foolish and unkind whim of Miss Royce's that prevented her

sanctioning the purchase :-or at least so he reasoned with himself.

"We may not come this way again for ever so long," he continued, rebelliously, “and even if we did, the apples would be all gone by then, most likely. At any rate, I intend to have some. How many a penny, old man?"

"Three a penny, sur," replied the old man, catching the drift of Sam's question, though he didn't appear to hear the words distinctly.

"That's not bad! I shall have some, too, if you do!" cried Smedley.

"So shall I. And I!" cried Freeman and Johnnie Harris, in a breath.

Willie Knowles and Mat had gone on, and Harry and I were preparing to follow, when we heard an exclamation of disappointment from the Scamp, and the next moment he came running after us.

"I say, Bernie, lend me a penny, will you? I haven't got a sou."

"But Miss Royce said we weren't to buy any," I suggested, meekly.

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Oh, humbug! who cares for Miss Royce? Besides, she won't know: we shall have gobbled them up long before we get home. Look here! I'll give you one of my three apples, if you'll only lend it to me."

"I don't like apples," I returned, truthfully, and then, unwilling to be thought stingy, and anxious not to disoblige him, I took out my purse, and lent him the moderate sum he wanted.

The next minute, I was surrounded by a group of some five or six others, all of whom, led on by the Scamp's daring example, were anxious to disobey orders, if they could only succeed in borrowing some of the 'needful' with which to execute their rash design: so, with the best grace I could muster to the occasion, I had soon distributed all the coppers I had.

"My purse feels ever so much lighter, though it isn't really very much poorer!" I said to Harry, as I returned it to my pocket, and then, catching hold of my side of the handle, away we trudged once more, with our heavy basket of berries carefully suspended between us.

"I overheard Rogers and Bob North saying they should go and prig some apples," said Harry, confidentially, as soon as we were out of earshot of the others. "I think it's most awfully mean of them, especially after the old chap gave us such a lot. There is a pile lying at the far end of the orchard, beyond where the hedge begins, and there are several big gaps, where they can easily get through, you know."

"Yes, and if fellows can afford to pay, it's worse than mean, -it's stealing," I replied, exhibiting more warmth than reasoning power in my remark. "If they were poor boys and were caught," I continued, "they would get sent to prison, most likely, though they would not deserve it half as much as those who ought to know so much better, and haven't nearly the same temptation."

"Do you think I ought to have lent them that money? I asked, after a brief reflection.

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Oh, they'll pay you all right, you know who they all are, and how many you lent to, don't you?"

"Oh, it isn't that! I didn't mean that, of course!" I answered, rather indignantly.

"I see. Well, I expect Miss Royce would pitch into you, if she knew," replied Harry, thereby expressing, as plainly as the direct words could have done, that he considered my share in the matter somewhat blameable, inasmuch as that it had encouraged others to commit an open breach of the rules, though I myself might have kept strictly within bounds.

Just then, however, we caught up Willie and Mat, and had scarcely been walking with them three minutes, when an old gentleman, who occasionally visited at the school, appeared, walking towards us.