“It zsa rum thing!” quoth Parkins. ‘You say you had it in your hand,
showing it to Arthur, just before you came out?”

“Yes, And I’m positively certain I put it in my left-hand breast-pocket.
A jolly shame I call it!”

Something in George’s tone caused Parkins tu glance at him curiously, but
the latter made no remark.

At home George made a grand fuss about his loss and the ‘‘shame” it was,
making himself and everybody around him quite miserable over it. At school
he adopted a somewhat different tone, and, without saying anything openly,
contrived, by hints and ominous silences, to communicate to a chosen few his
suspicions concerning the matter, which were nothing less than that Arthur
had stolen the pencil-case out of the pocket of his coat while it lay on the
ground!

It was very shocking that George should be able to think such a thing of
his cousin, and did not speak very well for his own uprightness of character.

“But I know he’s a young sneak, with his smooth, soft ways!” he said to
himself.

Not many days after Percy Powell mysteriously beckoned George into a
nice quiet corner of the play-ground, alone.

“T say,” he began confidentially and with a knowing look, ‘‘young Arthur's
got a gold pencil-case just like the one you say you've lost!”

“Has he? How do you know?” George eagerly asked.

“Saw it! I had my eye on him when he didn’t think, and he brought the
thing out of his pocket and began fingering it. But he popped it away pretty
quick when he caught sight of me!”

“The young thief!” said George, savagely, between his teeth.

“Why don’t you tax him with it?” asked Percy.

“He'd be sure to make up some tarradiddle or other,” answered George,
who shrank from openly charging his cousin with theft and giving him a chance
to vindicate himself, which would at least have been a manly thing to do, though
he was cowardly enough to blacken his character in secret. ‘Besides, he’s
mother’s pet, you know, and as I’m living with them they can make things
precious hot for me if they like!”

Rapidly the poison spread. The boys eyed Arthur askance, and. ‘“‘cold-
shouldered” him, and daily sent him farther on his lonesome journey to
“Coventry.” The poor lad was troubled and puzzled enough at this strange
behavior, as may be supposed, but from no one could he get anything like a
satisfactory explanation.

About ten days from the date of George’s loss his birthday came round.