my boy, more for your own
sake than for ours." Then Mr. Bhaer shook hands with him, and Dan went
down more tamed by kindness than he would have been by the good whipping
which Asia had strongly recommended.

Dan did try for a day or two, but not being used to it, he soon tired
and relapsed into his old wilful ways. Mr. Bhaer was called from home
on business one day, and the boys had no lessons. They liked this, and
played hard till bedtime, when most of them turned in and slept like
dormice. Dan, however, had a plan in his head, and when he and Nat were
alone, he unfolded it.

"Look here!" he said, taking from under his bed a bottle, a cigar, and a
pack of cards, "I'm going to have some fun, and do as I used to with
the fellows in town. Here's some beer, I got if of the old man at the
station, and this cigar; you can pay for 'em or Tommy will, he's got
heaps of money and I haven't a cent. I'm going to ask him in; no, you
go, they won't mind you."

"The folks won't like it," began Nat.

"They won't know. Daddy Bhaer is away, and Mrs. Bhaer's busy with Ted;
he's got croup or something, and she can't leave him. We shan't sit up
late or make any noise, so where's the harm?"

"Asia will know if we burn the lamp long, she always does."

"No, she won't, I've got a dark lantern on purpose; it don't give much
light, and we can shut it quick if we hear anyone coming," said Dan.

This idea struck Nat as a fine one, and lent an air of romance to the
thing. He started off to tell Tommy, but put his head in again to say,

"You want Demi, too, don't you?"

"No, I don't; the Deacon will rollup eyes and preach if you tell him. He
will be asleep, so just tip the wink to Tom and cut back again."

Nat obeyed, and returned in a minute with Tommy half dressed, rather
tousled about the head and very sleepy, but quite ready for fun as
usual.

"Now, keep quiet, and I'll show you how to play a first-rate game called
'Poker,'" said Dan, as the three revellers gathered round the table, on
which were set forth the bottle, the cigar, and the cards. "First we'll
all have a drink, then we'll take a go at the 'weed,' and then we'll
play. That's the way men do, and it's jolly fun."

The beer circulated in a mug, and all three smacked their lips over it,
though Nat and Tommy did not like the bitter stuff. The cigar was worse
still, but they dared not say so, and each puffed away till he was dizzy
or choked, when he passed the "weed" on to h