hills and woods
where he longed to be.

"Suppose we take a little turn before the others come back? That big,
easy carriage will be quite safe and comfortable, and a breath of fresh
air will do you good. Get a cushion and a shawl, Demi, and let's carry
Dan off."

The boys thought it a capital joke, and Dan looked delighted, but asked,
with an unexpected burst of virtue,

"Will Mrs. Bhaer like it?"

"Oh, yes; we settled all that a minute ago."

"You didn't say any thing about it, so I don't see how you could," said
Demi, inquisitively.

"We have a way of sending messages to one another, without any words. It
is a great improvement on the telegraph."

"I know it's eyes; I saw you lift your eyebrows, and nod toward the
carriage, and Mrs. Bhaer laughed and nodded back again," cried Nat, who
was quite at his ease with kind Mr. Laurie by this time.

"Right. Now them, come on," and in a minute Dan found himself settled in
the carriage, his foot on a cushion on the seat opposite, nicely
covered with a shawl, which fell down from the upper regions in a most
mysterious manner, just when they wanted it. Demi climbed up to the
box beside Peter, the black coachman. Nat sat next Dan in the place of
honor, while Uncle Teddy would sit opposite, to take care of the foot,
he said, but really that he might study the faces before him both so
happy, yet so different, for Dan's was square, and brown, and strong,
while Nat's was long, and fair, and rather weak, but very amiable with
its mild eyes and good forehead.

"By the way, I've got a book somewhere here that you may like to see,"
said the oldest boy of the party, diving under the seat and producing a
book which make Dan exclaim,

"Oh! by George, isn't that a stunner?" as he turned the leaves, and saw
fine plates of butterflies, and birds, and every sort of interesting
insect, colored like life. He was so charmed that he forgot his thanks,
but Mr. Laurie did not mind, and was quite satisfied to see the boy's
eager delight, and to hear this exclamations over certain old friends as
he came to them. Nat leaned on his shoulder to look, and Demi turned his
back to the horses, and let his feet dangle inside the carriage, so that
he might join in the conversation.

When they got among the beetles, Mr. Laurie took a curious little object
out of his vest-pocket, and laying it in the palm of his hand, said,

"There's a beetle that is thousands of years old;" and then, while the
lad