Produced by Al Haines. THE GAYTON SCHOLARSHIP _A SCHOOL STORY_ BY HERBERT HAYENS Author of "At the Point of the Sword," "An Emperor’s Doom," "Clevely Sahib," "Under the Lone Star," &c. &c. THOMAS NELSON AND SONS _London, Edinburgh, and New York_ 1904 *CONTENTS.* I. THE DEANERY CANDIDATES II. THE CHALLENGE SHIELD III. A NEWSPAPER PARAGRAPH IV. FURTHER NEWS OF THE "MORNING STAR" V. JIM STARTS WORK VI. THE EXAMINATION VII. "IT’S ALL MY FAULT" VIII. "DID I SAVE HIM?" IX. THE RESULT OF THE EXAMINATION X. GOING DOWN HILL XI. IS JIM A THIEF? XII. WHERE IS THE MISSING MONEY? XIII. AN AMATEUR DETECTIVE XIV. CURLY AND COMPANY XV. "WHEN THIEVES FALL OUT" XVI. A FRESH START XVII. A STARTLING SURPRISE *THE GAYTON SCHOLARSHIP.* *CHAPTER I.* *THE DEANERY CANDIDATES.* "Good-morning, Mrs. Hartland. Isn’t Jim ready? All right; I’ll wait for him. Do you think Susie would care for these wild flowers and grasses? I picked them this morning. Rover and I have been for a splendid run over the common, nearly as far as the forest." "Thanks, Dick," said Mrs. Hartland, with a pleased smile; "Susie will be delighted with them. Poor girl! it’s little chance she has to see them growing herself. What a pretty white dog-rose!" "Isn’t it a beauty? I thought Susie would like that.—Hullo, Jim!" as his chum appeared from an inner room; "come on, old lazy-bones. I expected to find you in a tremendous hurry this morning.—Good-bye, Mrs. Hartland; I hope Susie will be pleased with the flowers." Most people liked Dick Boden. He was a comical youngster, fond of all kinds of fun and frolic, and always keeping an eye on the bright side of things. In school he was a regular pickle, and yet his teachers spoke well of him, for there was nothing mean about Dick, and he was as honest as the day. "Full of animal spirits and a trifle impetuous, but a good little chap at bottom," said Mr. Holmore, the head-master of the Deanery School. He was a round-faced, curly-haired fellow, with laughing blue eyes, a most engaging smile, and such an innocent expression that a lady artist once painted his portrait as a study of an angel. This greatly amused the Deaneryites, who promptly dubbed him the Angel. Of course he was very popular with his school-fellows, but his one particular chum was Jim Hartland, a sailor’s son, and one of the head boys in the school.