een thinking all the way from Preston, that Ned Hassel would
certainly call in the evening, to ask me to the picnic, before the other
boys got a chance. So I expect I answered a little cross, 'Dear me!
Calanthy! 'way down there to-night; won't to-morrow be time enough?'

'Why, yes, dear,' said Calanthy, 'if you are too tired; but I was afraid
the poor soul might be suffering, for Jim's nobody in sickness, you
know; and I don't like to have Polly Jane go alone. Besides, there's
such a big ironing to do to-morrow, I can't well spare you in the
morning.'

Calanthy spoke so kind, I felt ashamed of my bad temper; so I answered,
'Very well, Calanthy, I'll go to-night; I'm not much tired.'

After tea Polly Jane and I set out; we had a little basket with camphor
and mustard, and other useful things Calanthy had put up for Mrs. Burt:
it is a beautiful walk through the Hollow, and I should have liked it
very much if my head had not been so full of the picnic that I couldn't
think of anything else. We didn't go through the village, but turned off
the main road into a lane that cut off a part of the distance. I was a
little ahead of Polly Jane, for she _would_ carry the basket, and we had
just got into the lane when she said to me, 'Look back, Dimpey; here
comes one of your beaux!' I turned around, and saw Ned Hassel on one of
his fast horses. He pulled up at the corner and called out--his voice
was a little too _loud_ and confident like, I must confess--'Good
evening, Polly Jane; good evening, Dimpey; are you going to take a walk
in the woods, so near sundown?'

It provoked Polly, I suppose, to hear him speak so bold, for she
answered, very short, 'No, we're going on an errand.'

He didn't seem to notice, but looked at me, and said, 'I was just on my
way to your house, Dimpey, to ask your company to the picnic next week;
I suppose Joe told you about it? We're going to set out early, and have
a real good time; I mean to take my fast team and the light wagon, and
we can get up the mountain before the others have fairly started.'

Polly Jane spoke up again--she never could bear the Hassels, and always
said they were the greatest braggarts in our county: 'That would be
great fun, for you and Dimpey to get ahead of all the company! I thought
picnickers always kept together.'

Ned colored up and looked angry, but he only said, 'Will you engage to
ride with me, Dimpey?'

If Polly Jane had not been there, I should have told Ned to