Item" A sudden shout from the vanward, a crashing in the underbrush beside the way, a shrill cry, and three or four of Eric's ragged rogues appeared dragging a woman betwixt them, at sight of whom the air was filled with fierce shouts and cries.

Tears of vexation welled in Eric's eyes.

Eric's wavered a little uncertainly, as though he doubted whether Helma knew it well enough to answer.

They had not turned out, they had jumped right over the birches, and they were much higher than Eric's head!

" They dug up the earth with their hands, Forest Children's hands, Wild Star's hands, Eric's and Ivra's,and planted the flowers all about the door stone.

When the Tree Girl's music stopped between dances, then it would go on in Eric's head.

And Eric's head was too full of dreams and his eyes too full of visions of the sea to notice them at all.

"Your cousin Upton has 'taken up' Williams," said Montagu to Russell one afternoon, as he saw the two strolling together on the beach, with Eric's arm in Upton's.

But the sense of sin was on Eric's mind.

"O yes, Monty, do," said Russell, "It will be quite like old times; now that my cousin Horace has got hold of Eric, we have to sing 'When shall we three meet again?'" Russell only spoke in fun; but, unintentionally, his words jarred in Eric's heart.

Yours, if you are not silly, E.W." The consequence was, that as they came out from prayers, Upton seized Eric's hand, and slapped him on the back, after which they had a good laugh over their own foolish fracas, and ran up stairs chattering merrily.

" Eric's cogitations began to be unpleasant, when the door opened, and somebody stole noiselessly in.

On this occasion he was particularly angry; he had an especial dislike of seeing the two boys together, because he fancied that the younger had grown more than usually conceited and neglectful, since he had been under the fifth-form patronage; and he saw in Eric's presence there, a new case of wilful disobedience.

Eric's heart beat loud, as his saw Mr. Rose point towards him.

And Vernon quite returned the admiration as he saw the healthy glow of Eric's features, and the strong graceful development of his limbs.

Before three months were over, he became, to Eric's intolerable disgust, a ringleader in the band of troublesome scapegraces, whose increasing numbers were the despair of all who had the interests of the school at heart.

"You don't want to make the whole school such a muffish set as the rosebuds, do you?" There was something of assumed bravado in Eric's whole manner which jarred on Duncan exceedingly.

hang you all, you are all turning against me, because you are a set of muffs, and" "Take care!" said Duncan; but suddenly he caught Eric's look, and stopped.

" So Eric and Wildney started off to the coach-office, where they found the hamper, and ordered it to be brought at once to the school, and carried up to Eric's study.

" Dr. Rowlands, seeing that in Eric's present mood he must and would be heard, unless he were ejected by actual force, began to pace silently up and down the room in perplexed and anxious thought; at last he stopped and turned over the pages of a thick school register, and found Eric's name.

But Eric's sorrow lay too deep for chaff, and only answering with a sigh, he went to dress for tea.

" He ran down stairs hastily and entered the tea-room, where the boys were talking in high spirits about the match, and liberally praising Eric's play.

" "As I always knew it would be, dear old boy," said Wildney. Montagu and Wildney found plenty to make them happy at Fairholm, and were never tired of Eric's society, and of his stories about all that befell him on board the "Stormy Petrel."

" And Montagu, in his pleasant musical voice, read me, with much feeling, these lines, written in Eric's boyish hand, and signed with his name.

After those summer holidays, when we returned to school, Montagu and Wildney brought back with them the intelligence of Eric's return to Fairholm, and of his death.