ones in the wall, she
slowly climbed up until she was on a level with the destined
foundations of the Eagle's Nest.

"Now hand me up a branch," she cried, "and I will lay the first stone
of our house!"

"But I thought you said it was to be all sticks?" objected John.

"Do try and not be stupid!" exclaimed Betty rather sharply, as she
wrestled with a branch far beyond her strength to lift single-handed.
"One always talks of laying the first stone, you know, whatever the
place is built of. At least I never heard of laying the first brick!
And please help me to lift up the end of this branch, I can't push it
high enough, and it will get entangled in my hair and knock off my hat."

The twins struggled unsuccessfully to lift the heavy branch high enough
for Madge to reach. She stooped forward as far as she dared, almost
losing her balance indeed, in her effort to get hold of this refractory
foundation-stone. "If you two were only a little taller!" she
exclaimed reproachfully.

Betty looked down abashed. She was short for her age, and knew it.
Quite an inch more in the wrong than John. But she had ideas.

"If we knotted all our handkerchiefs together and tied them to one end
of the branch, you could pull it up easily," she suggested.

In ten minutes more the first stick, or stone, of the Eagle's Nest was
laid amidst shouts of congratulation and rejoicing.

CHAPTER IV.

A ROPE-LADDER.

Building even the most simple sort of house is a very great work. A
nest ought to be begun and finished in less than a week--at least year
after year birds accomplish something of the sort without our ever
thinking them particularly clever or industrious. But the Eagle's Nest
at Beechgrove was terribly incomplete, even after a fortnight's labour
had been expended on it.

"It doesn't look as if it would ever be finished," said John
mournfully, "and yet we have worked so hard."

His spirits were apt to give way when anything went wrong either at
lessons or play, and the first sign of depression was that he sat still
and did nothing.

"You see, making the steps up the wall took a very long time," said
Betty, who was vigorously sawing away at some twigs with a knife that
had lately lost the little edge it ever boasted. "But they are very
good steps," she added proudly.

By scratching patiently with sharp stones and long-suffering knives,
the children had managed to remove a good deal of mortar from cracks
about a foo