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both stopped and listened

Shock began to hiss very softly, as if he were a stea from the safety-valve, as we heard, about fifty yards

fro of the pear-trees, the heavy shake of a bough, and

then through the pitchy darkness whop! whop! whop! whop! as the pears

fell on to the soft ground

"You go this way," I whispered to Shock, "and I'll go that way, and then

we'll rush in and catch theet hold o' the bag"

We were separating when he caught hold of ether"

In the darkness perhaps his was the better plan At all events we

adopted it, and taking hold of hands we advanced on tiptoe trerasped, and every now and then the pendent

branches of so our faces And all the

tihs, the

fall of the pears, and tittering and whispering as the party see up the spoil

"We shall have too many," whispered a voice just before us

"NeverGo it, boys"

"Hush! Soh loaded Oh, I say!" Shock gave my

hand a nip to which I responded, and then all at once from under the

tree where we stood we ures we could

sometimes make out a few yards away