CHAPTER II.

THE LONG CROSS SCHOOL.

"From the neighbouring school come the boys,
With more than their wonted noise
And commotion."

ABOUT two miles and a half from Lynton-
ville was the small village of Fairfield, con-
sisting chiefly of one principal street which
led straight across the bridge and up the high
bank of the river; while two rival mills and
a few frame houses and shanties, dotted here
and there on the opposite side, comprised the
whole of the settlement. Standing a short
distance back from the top of the steep village
street, was the little wooden church.
It was
surrounded by a dark background of pine-
trees, which rocked and swayed in the breeze,
close by the quiet churchyard, where many
a settler from the surrounding country had
already been laid to rest. Still farther away,
to the right, was the Long Cross School-a
low, rough building, with shingled roof, and
wooden walls grown grey by long exposure to

wind and weather. being situated on the Cross-road, leading through a large cedar swamp, which connected the woods of Lyntonville with those of Fairfield. Had you peeped in at the door, you would have seen boys of all sorts and sizes, rich and poor, at the Long Cross School, for there was no other for many miles round. John and Charlie Redfern, the clergyman's sons; Tom Hardy, from the dry goods store at the corner; and Philip Quin, were all in the same class with Harry Lynton and several others; and we shall become better acquainted with some of them before our story is finished.

It derived its name from

One fine spring morning, Harry was walking leisurely to school, swinging his books by the leathern strap that bound them, when his quick eye spied a flying-squirrel, leaping from bough to bough in a large rockelm close to the path. Immediately he gave chase, and after a long and exciting scramble, which led him far out of his road, he succeeded in securing it under his cap; and then he hurried on, eager to show his prize to his schoolfellows. What was his dismay when he found the door closed, and heard through the open window the busy hum of the boys' voices repeating their lessons. There was no

help for it now, however, so he tried to slip in quietly unobserved. A class was just going up, and Harry thought he had escaped notice; but unfortunately it was by no means the first offence.

"I say, won't you catch it for being late again!" whispered his next neighbour. "Old Elmslie has been asking for you."

66

'Can't be helped," said Harry.

caught a flying-squirrel!

"I've

"Oh! do let us see it, Lynton!" said Charlie Redfern, "where is it?"

"It's in my pocket; I can't show it you now. It will be off, if I don't take care." "I say, what's the fun ?" telegraphed another from an opposite form. Harry drew a rough sketch on his slate and held it

up.

"Silence, there!" cried Mr. Elmslie from his desk, and instantly the boys were as still as mice. But Harry could think of nothing but his squirrel, which was bobbing about in his pocket, as if it would break bounds every moment. Soon the fifth form was called up; but not one word of his lesson could Harry remember, for the squirrel was still uppermost in his mind. "I say, Phil, do you think it will eat it's way out?" he whispered.

"What?" said Philip, who knew nothing

about it.

"I've got a flying-squirrel in my pocket. I caught it coming to school!"

"You'd better not bother about it now, you'll lose your place if you don't mind."

"Lynton," said the master, "you know the rules; go to the foot of the class, and don't let me have to speak to you again."

Harry tried to attend for a few minutes; then it struck him that the squirrel had been very still for a long time; could it be dead? He could not resist the temptation of putting his hand very gently into his pocket to see if all was right. Hardly had he done so, when a bite, sharp enough to draw blood, made him hastily withdraw it, and the little prisoner, taking advantage of the opening, sprang out of his pocket, and leaped first on the master's desk, where it upset the ink all over his books and papers-then settled on little Percy Hamilton's curly head, entangling its claws in his long hair-then freeing itself with a struggle and a bound, it cleared the open window, and was off to the shelter of its native woods, well pleased no doubt to be let out of school! The boys shouted; those who were in the secret laughing heartily at poor Harry's misfortune, while the others,

completely mystified at the sudden commotion, asked each other what it all meant. Even Mr. Elmslie's voice failed in quieting them for some moments; but order being at length restored, Harry was told to stand out. "Now, sir," said the master, “ what am I to say to you for causing all this damage and disturbance? "

Harry stood silent, and the matter ended by his having to spend that long, bright halfholiday alone in the Long Cross School, with all his lessons to learn over again, and a long imposition besides. But although Harry was inclined to be idle sometimes, he had nevertheless many good points in his character. He was open-hearted and generous; and in any case of oppression or wrong-doing amongst his school-fellows, he was sure to stand up for the right.

It so happened that when Philip Quin first joined the school, he incurred the dislike of Tom Hardy, one of the biggest and most unpopular of the boys. For a long time, Hardy, who was not wanting in quickness and ability, had been considered head of the fifth, or highest form; but he took advantage of his standing to bully his companions. Very soon after Philip joined, however, Hardy found his position becoming more and more