“Now, Willum, didn’t you see ’em there last week?”

“Ees, I seen ’em sure enough,” says Willum, grasping a prong he carried, and preparing for action.

The boys deny stoutly, and Willum is driven to admit that “if it worn’t they ’twas chaps as like ’em as two peas’n;” and “leastways he’ll swear he see’d them two in the yard last Martinmas,” indicating East and Tom.

Holmes has had time to meditate.  “Now, sir,” says he to Willum, “you see you can’t remember what you have seen, and I believe the boys.”

“I doan’t care,” blusters the farmer; “they was arter my fowls to-day—­that’s enough for I.—­Willum, you catch hold o’ t’other chap.  They’ve been a-sneaking about this two hours, I tells ’ee,” shouted he, as Holmes stands between Martin and Willum, “and have druv a matter of a dozen young pullets pretty nigh to death.”

“Oh, there’s a whacker!” cried East; “we haven’t been within a hundred yards of his barn; we haven’t been up here above ten minutes, and we’ve seen nothing but a tough old guinea-hen, who ran like a greyhound.”

“Indeed, that’s all true, Holmes, upon my honour,” added Tom; “we weren’t after his fowls; guinea-hen ran out of the hedge under our feet, and we’ve seen nothing else.”

“Drat their talk.  Thee catch hold o’ t’other, Willum, and come along wi’ un.”

“Farmer Thompson,” said Holmes, warning off Willum and the prong with his stick, while Diggs faced the other shepherd, cracking his fingers like pistol-shots, “now listen to reason.  The boys haven’t been after your fowls, that’s plain.”

“Tells ’ee I see’d’em.  Who be you, I should like to know?”

“Never you mind, farmer,” answered Holmes.  “And now I’ll just tell you what it is:  you ought to be ashamed of yourself for leaving all that poultry about, with no one to watch it, so near the School.  You deserve to have it all stolen.  So if you choose to come up to the Doctor with them, I shall go with you, and tell him what I think of it.”

The farmer began to take Holmes for a master; besides, he wanted to get back to his flock.  Corporal punishment was out of the question, the odds were too great; so he began to hint at paying for the damage.  Arthur jumped at this, offering to pay anything, and the farmer immediately valued the guinea-hen at half a sovereign.

“Half a sovereign!” cried East, now released from the farmer’s grip; “well, that is a good one!  The old hen ain’t hurt a bit, and she’s seven years old, I know, and as tough as whipcord; she couldn’t lay another egg to save her life.”

It was at last settled that they should pay the farmer two shillings, and his man one shilling; and so the matter ended, to the unspeakable relief of Tom, who hadn’t been able to say a word, being sick at heart at the idea of what the Doctor would think of him; and now the whole party of boys marched off down the footpath towards Rugby.  Holmes, who was one of the best boys in the School, began to improve the occasion.  “Now, you youngsters,” said he, as he marched along in the middle of them, “mind this; you’re very well out of this scrape.  Don’t you go near Thompson’s barn again; do you hear?”