"If you dare to touch me," cried Arthur furiously, "I shall complain to papa." "And he'll laugh at you," said Dick; "and serve you right." Arthur snatched off his lower garment with the obstinacy of a half-asleep individual, and scrambled into bed again, dragging the clothes up over his chest, and scowling defiantly at his brother, as if saying, "Touch me if you dare." "There's a stupid, obstinate, lazy old pig," cried Dick, throwing the pillow at him and standing rubbing one ear. "Here--hi, Will!" he said, going to the window, "come round and upstairs. Here's a seal in his cave asleep. Come and let's tug him out." "He had better not dare to come into my bed-room," cried Arthur, punching the pillow thrown at him viciously, and settling down in his place; not that he wanted more rest, but out of dislike to being disturbed, and from a fit of morning ill-temperedness getting the upper hand. Just then Dick was leaning out of the window half-dressed, and with his braces hanging down as if they were straps to haul him back in case he leaned too far. Arthur glanced at his brother for a moment and then shouted: "Here, Dick, shut that window!" Dick evidently did not hear him, and a low giggling laugh reached his ears. "They had better not try to play any tricks with me," said Arthur to himself, as he lay frowning and feeling very much dissatisfied, as he thought, with Dick, but really with himself. Then he heard more laughing, the sound of steps in the garden, and something thump against the wall of the house. There was no mistake now about Arthur's wakefulness, as he lay with the clothes drawn right above his nose; one eye glanced at the window, and he breathed quickly with indignation as Dick drew a little on one side to make room for Will, who had obtained the short ladder used by his uncle to nail up his creepers, and placed it against the wall, and he was now on the top with his jersey-covered arms resting on the window-sill, and his sun-browned face above them looking in. "Good-morning, sir!" he said merrily. "Want anybody to help you dress?" "How dare you!" cried Arthur indignantly. "Go away, and shut that window directly. It's disgraceful. We had no business to come to such a place as this," he continued, forgetting all his good resolves, and giving rein to his anger. "Why, hullo! what's all this?" said Mr Temple, entering the room, dressed for going out. "I'm glad you've come, papa," cried Arthur, whose face was scarlet with anger. "These boys have--" "Oh, I say, Taff, don't be disagreeable," cried Dick. "It was all my doing, father. Taff wouldn't get up, and Will here had come to call us, and I told him to get up the ladder and look in, pretending that there _was_ a seal in a cave, and Taff turned cross about it." "Get up directly, Arthur," said Mr Temple quietly, "and make haste down. How would to-day do to visit the seal-cave?" continued Mr Temple, turning to Will.