r. He touched his cap.

"Please, miss, I made bold to come here, to thank you for having
cleared me."

"But I couldn't help clearing you, Reuben, for you see, I knew it
wasn't you."

"Well, miss, it was very kind, all the same; and I am very much
obliged to you."

"But why do you get into scrapes?" the girl said. "If you didn't,
you wouldn't be suspected of other things. Mamma said, the other
day, you got into more scrapes than any boy in the village; and you
look nice, too. Why do you do it?"

"I don't know why I do it, miss," Reuben said shamefacedly. "I
suppose it's because I don't go into the fields, like most of the
other boys; and haven't got much to do. But there's no great harm
in them, miss. They are just larks, nothing worse."

"You don't do really bad things?" the girl asked.

"No, miss, I hope not."

"And you don't tell stories, do you?"

"No, miss, never. If I do anything and I am asked, I always own it.
I wouldn't tell a lie to save myself from a licking."

"That's right," the girl said graciously.

She caught somewhat of her mother's manner, from going about with
her to the cottages; and it seemed quite natural, to her, to give
her advice to this village scapegrace.

"Well, try not to do these sort of things again, Reuben; because I
like you, and I don't like to hear people say you are the worst boy
in the village, and I don't think you are. Good-bye," and Kate
Ellison proceeded on her way.

Reuben smiled as he looked after her. Owing to his memory of his
former position at the mill, and to his mother's talk and teaching,
Reuben did not entertain the same feeling of respect, mingled with
fear, for the squire's family which was felt by the village in
general. Instead of being two years younger than himself, the girl
had spoken as gravely as if she had been twenty years his senior,
and Reuben could not help a smile of amusement.

"She is a dear little lady," he said, as he looked after her; "and
it's only natural she should talk like her mother. But Mrs. Ellison
means well, too, mother says; and as for the squire, he is a good
fellow. I expected he would have given it to me the other day.

"Well, now I will go up to the pony. One more lesson, and I think a
baby might ride it."

As he walked along, he met Tom Thorne. There had been war between
them, since the affair of the broken window. Reuben had shown the
other no animosity on the subject as, having been cleared, he had
felt in no w