“No, mother,� said Bill.
“Why not? I told you to be careful of it. What mischief have you been up to? I shall be easier when the holidays are over and the schoolmaster is busy with his ferrule.�
The twins looked at each other and were silent.
“Come,� said Verney, “out with it, boys.�
“You’re the oldest, Harry,� said Bill.
“Out with it, Gemini,� said Verney.
Harry was silent, and it was Bill who replied.
“Well, Sambo—that’s Aunt Mary’s man, sir—he wouldn’t let us carry the lantern.�
Verney, the sympathetic lover of all their mischief, asked, “What then, Bill?�
“We kicked his shins and he dropped the lantern and it went out, and a soldier came along and he said we had no lantern and he must take Sambo to the Guardhouse.�