terror, and she dropped
her breakfast and ran to the boy, crying out that she should die if it
were killed, for it was the only thing in all the world she had to love
her.

The boy saw that she had great brown eyes, and beautiful brown hair, and
a little mouth like a rose-bud, and he thought, "How lovely she is!" and
dropped his gun, and said so many comforting words to Nannette, that
always after it they were the very dearest of friends. And the Raven
seemed to approve of Reginald also--for Reginald was the little boy's
name, and he was very proud of it, being, as you know, a little out of
the common; he would perch on his shoulder, and what he said to him as
years went by I can not tell; but Reginald became thoughtful, and talked
to Nannette continually about going away, and growing rich, and then
coming home to marry her and make her a great lady. But Reginald did not
have money enough to go away, and so he was often very sad and silent.

One day he came to Nannette with a paper in his hand. "See!" he cried,
"the squire's son has been lost in the hills while hunting, and there is
one hundred pounds to be given to whoever finds him. I know all about
the hills, and shall certainly find the young squire." Then he said
good-by to Nannette, and would have done so to the Raven, but the bird
flew away before him, and for all his mistress's cries he would not come
back. So together they went up the rocks, and Nannette watched them
quite out of sight.

And Reginald, who knew a great deal about birds, watched the Raven, and
saw that he flew continually over one spot in a narrow ravine; and there
he found the poor young squire. His horse had been killed by the fall,
and there he lay with a broken leg, and almost dead with hunger and
thirst and pain. After this piece of good luck, Reginald's way was
clear. Every one was then talking about a new country full of gold,
called California; and though it was at the other end of the world,
Reginald bravely sailed away into the West. Aunt Mabel shook her head,
and the Raven nodded his head, and Nannette cried and laughed, and bid
him "come quickly back, and build again the beautiful castle of
Ravensfield"; and Reginald said, gravely, "I will surely do it," whereat
the Raven nodded his wise-looking head harder than before.

"How long will he be away, Aunt Mabel?" said Nannette, sadly.

"Twenty years at least, my dear. I shall never see him again. I am
seventy-five years old now."