at the doctor, Walter, and Percy rushed out in response to the
entreaty. But the bee's victim seemed to have vanished with wonderful
celerity. The porch was entirely deserted.

"Gone! gone already! who can she have been?" exclaimed Percy, glancing
about in great surprise.

"I cannot imagine," said the doctor; then catching sight of Walter's
face, which told of suppressed mirthfulness, a sudden recollection
came to him; and he added, "Ah, I think I understand it," turned, and
went back into the parlor.

"Who was it?" asked several voices.

"Nobody, apparently," answered the doctor with a smile; and Percy
added, "She had strangely disappeared."

"Well," said a rough voice, seemingly coming from the hall, "if I was
a doctor, and a poor woman got badly stung right here in my own house,
d'ye think I wouldn't do something fur her?"

"Bring her in here, and I will do what I can for her," replied the
doctor.

"Hello here, Bet!" called the voice; "I say, go right along in thar
and see what he'll do fur ye."

"What'll he do? p'raps hurt me worse than the bee has?" snarled a
sharp, disagreeable voice. "I guess I won't resk it."

"All right then, Bet, let's go," said the other voice; "'taint our way
to stay long where we git nothin' but stings."

A sound as of shuffling footsteps followed, then all was still.

Some of the children and young people ran to the door and windows,
hoping to catch sight of the strange couple, but were surprised that
they could see nothing of them.

But the bee seemed to have come in again and to be buzzing all about
the room--now up near the ceiling, now down about the ears of one and
another of the company. There were dodgings and curious glances here
and there, exclamations of surprise that the creature was not to be
seen as well as heard, till their attention was taken from it by the
furious barking of a dog, seemingly on the porch, and mingled with it
screams of pain and terror in a childish voice; cries of "Oh, take him
off! he's biting me! Oh, oh, he'll kill me! Oh, come quick, somebody,
before he kills me!"

Several of the gentlemen present sprang up and rushed out to the
rescue, but found all quiet on the porch and neither child nor dog in
sight.

For a moment they looked at each other in surprise and perplexity,
then a sudden recollection of Cousin Ronald's powers came to one and
another, a little amused laugh was exchanged, and they returned to the
parlor, looking very grave