slipping on their clothes, crept with their shoes in their hands out of the room. I could not go to sleep, wondering what had become of them. Jack Rogers slept near me. He likewise had seen what had occurred. They were absent about half an hour. They returned as noiselessly as they had gone out, and crept into bed again, of course thinking that no one had observed them. No sooner was the door closed than there was a strong smell of apples in the room, and presently "crunch! crunch! crunch!" was heard. "Those fellows have been stealing old Rowley's apples, now," thought Jack; "and that donkey Paddy Adair has, I'd bet, been heading the party." He felt as if he were a spy by not letting them know that he was awake, so he sat up and said, "Hillo! you fellows, what have you been about?" "Is that you awake, Jack?" answered Adair. "Never mind, we've had great fun. Have an apple, will you?" "No, thank you," said Jack, "I'd rather not;" laying considerable emphasis on the last words. "He doesn't deserve one as he hadn't the pluck to go and get them," said a voice from under the bedclothes. "Who says that?" exclaimed Jack, sitting up in bed. "Why, I say you would have been afraid to go and do what we have done," answered Bully Pigeon, summoning up more courage than was his wont. "Afraid!" exclaimed Jack, springing out of bed and slipping on his trousers. "Afraid of what? Afraid of stealing? Afraid of telling a lie I am; but I'm not afraid of _you, you thief_, I can tell you." Even Bully Pigeon could not stand this. Unless he would be jeered at and called sneak ever afterwards by all the little boys in the school, he felt that he must retaliate. He jumped up and sprang at Jack, aiming a blow, which, if the latter had not slipped aside, would have knocked him over. Jack, notwithstanding this, sprang back, and put himself on his defence, not only warding off the next blow Pigeon struck, but planting another between his eyes, which brought fire into them with a vengeance. This enraged the bully, who came thundering down on Jack with all his might, and would have wellnigh crushed him, but Pigeon found a new assailant in the field whom he did not expect--one of his own party. It was Paddy Adair. "I can't stand that, and I won't," he exclaimed, aiming a blow at Pigeon's head which sent him backwards; while Alick Murray, who had likewise jumped up, appeared on the other side of him. "We are thieves, I tell you; we've been stealing old Rowley's apples, and Jack Rogers is right," cried Terence.