76 _ THE CHERRY-STONEs,

er was the signal for ‘departure given, than
away he scampered, and, in less than two
minutes, had arrived at the spot where he
had left his favourite, He gave one look
at the buttress, His worst fears were real-
ized. His treasure was gone; and, what
was stranger still, its place was occupied,
not indeed by a marble, but by-some other
substance, distantly resembling one. Back
he ran to his brother, his constant counsel-
lor in all his little troubles, “Oh, Harry !
Harry! what shall J do? They have
stolen my marble, and—”

‘Well, Walter,” said Mertoun, who had,
of course, anticipated this piece of infor-
mation, “TI am sorry your marble is gone;
but I dare Say it is not Stolen, and that
you will find it again Soon; and, until you
do, I will lend you another, as good or
better than your own.”