ently that it had come out with a burst and broken up into pieces,
which had caused a flood of tears on the part of the little cook. It did
not taste any the worse, however. And when the little girls came in to
dessert in their white frocks, looking rather shy, and very scorched in
the face, from their anxious peeping into pots to see that all was going
on well, they were received with a cheer by the boys; and their friends
were not a little astonished to hear that the dinner they had partaken
of had been entirely prepared and cooked by these little women.

After four months' gardening, Mr. Hardy placed the boys with a farmer
who lived a mile distant, and made an arrangement for them to breakfast
there, so that they now remained at work from six in the morning until
twelve. Here they obtained some idea of harnessing and driving horses,
of ploughing, and of the other farming operations.

They now only went four days a week to the carpenter's, for their papa
had one day said to them when they were alone with him before dinner:
'Do not put on your working clothes this afternoon, boys; I am going to
take you out with me, but do not say anything about it at dinner. I will
tell you why afterwards.'

Rather surprised, they did as he told them, wondering where they could
be going. Their father said nothing on the subject until they reached
the town, which was a quarter of a mile distant from their house. Then
he said: 'Now, boys, you know we are going out to a country of which a
great portion is still unsettled; and as land is a good deal cheaper at
a short distance from the inhabited parts, we shall perhaps have no one
within many miles of us. Now it is just possible that at first the
Indians may be disposed to be troublesome. I do not suppose that they
will, but it is just as well to be prepared for everything. There is no
reason why you boys should not be able to shoot as straightly as a man,
and I have therefore bought two carbines. They are the invention of an
American named Colt, and have a revolving breach, so that they fire six
shots each. There is a spare chamber to each, which is very quickly
shifted in place of the one discharged; so that each of you could fire
twelve shots in a very short time. They will carry up to five hundred
yards. They are a new invention, but all accounts agree that they are
an excellent one. I have obtained leave from Mr. Harcourt, who lives
three miles from here, to put up a target at the f