rise and astonishment at seeing Rollo go
deliberately up to the bush, and take down the twig that had the
hornets' nest attached to it, and hold it out towards him!

"I put it up there," said Rollo. "There are no hornets in it."

Still, James was somewhat afraid. He knew of course, now, that there
could be no hornets in it; but, still, the association of the idea of
danger was so strong with the sight of a hornets' nest, that he could
not feel quite easy. At length, however, he came up near to it, and
examined it attentively.

"What made you frighten me so, Rollo?" said he.

"O, only for fun," said Rollo.

"But you deceived me," said James; "and I don't think that that was
right. It is never right to deceive."

"O, I only did it for fun," said Rollo.

James insisted upon it that it was wrong, and Rollo that it was not
wrong; and finally they concluded to leave it to Jonas. So they both
went to him, and told him the story.

"Wasn't it wrong?" asked James.

"It wasn't--was it?" said Rollo.

"It was deception," added James.

"But it was only in fun," said Rollo.

"One or the other of you must be to blame," said Jonas.

"How?" asked Rollo.

"Why, James seems displeased with you for frightening him so; and now,
either you must have done wrong, and given him just cause for his
displeasure, or else, if you did right, then his displeasure is
unreasonable, and so it is ill humor."

The boys did not answer.

"So that the question is, Did Rollo do wrong? or, Is James out of
humor?"

"Why, I think deception is always wrong," said James.

"Did you ever play blind-man's-buff?" asked Jonas.

"Yes," replied James.

"And did you ever go and squeak in a corner, and then creep away, to
make the blind man think you were there, and so go groping after you?"

"Why, yes," said James; "but that is not deception."

"Why, don't you try to make the blind man think you are in the corner,
when, in fact, you have gone?"

"Yes," said James.

"And is not that trying to deceive him?"

"Yes--" said James, hesitating, "but,--I think that that is a very
different thing."

"How is it different?" said Jonas.

It is probable that James would have found some difficulty in answering
this question; but, in fact, he did not have the opportunity to try,
for, just then, he heard some one calling him, and he and Rollo went
into the house. They wanted him to go, and so he got into the chaise and
rode away, promising to come and s