taught to respect. A figure of a knight in a ruff kneeling on a tomb
had had its head knocked off, and one of the lads heaved the bits up
to throw at the last fragment of glass in the window.

"What do you do that for?" asked Stead.

"'Tis worshipping of idols," said a somewhat graver lad. "'Break
down their idols,' the man in the black gown said, 'and burn their
graven images in the fire.'"

"But we never worshipped them," said Stead.

"Pious preacher said so," returned the youth, "and mighty angered was
he with the rails." (Jeph and Will were sparring with two fragments
of them.) "'Down with them,' he cried out, so as it would have done
your heart good to hear him."

"And the parson is gone! There will be no hearing the catechism on
Sundays!" cried Ralph Wilkes, making a leap over the broken font.

"Good luck for you, Ralph," cried the others. "You, that never could
tell how many commandments there be."

"Put on your hat, Stead," called out another lad. "We've done with
all that now, and the parson is gone to prison for it."

"No, no," shouted Tom Oates, "'twas for making away with the
Communion things."

"I heard the red coat say they had a warrant against scandalous