Frank would get
tired of waiting. He left Frank at the corner of the street, to wait
until he ran home to ask his mother's permission to go with him to bury
the dog. Now, many boys would have gone without taking this trouble.
They would have taken the permission to go to Prospect Hill, to cover
going to Frank's house also. But Nat would not do this. It would be
taking advantage of his mother's kindness. He was never in the habit of
going away even to the nearest neighbor's without permission. Such boys
as Sam Drake are all over the neighborhood, and sometimes go even
further, without consulting their parents. Very often their parents do
not know where they are. If one of their associates should run home for
permission to do a given thing, as Nat did, such a fellow as Sam Drake
would be likely to say,

"I should like to see myself asking the old woman (his mother) to go
there. If I wanted to go, I should go. What does a woman know about
boys? I wouldn't be a baby all my days. If a fellow can't have his own
way, I wouldn't give a snap to live. Permission or no permission, I
would have the old folks know that I shall be my own man sometimes."

This is not manly independence, but youthful disobedience and
recklessness, that lead to ruin. All good people look with manifest
displeasure upon such an ungovernable spirit, and expect such boys will
find an early home in a prison.

When Nat reached the corner of the street, he found that Frank had gone,
so he hastened on, and was soon at Mr. Martin's (Frank's father).

"I waited a few minutes," said Frank, as he met Nat at the door, "and
then I thought I would run on and get all things ready."

"I was afraid that I had kept you waiting so long that you got out of
patience," added Nat. "But I stopped to tell mother about it, and she
had considerable to say."

Frank had related the circumstances of Trip's death to his mother before
Nat's arrival, and received her consent to bury the dog at the foot of
the garden.

"Come, now, let us run into the wood-shed for a box," said Frank; "I
have one there full of blocks that is just about right to put Trip
into."

"Then you mean he shall have a coffin? I thought you would tumble him
into his grave as they do dead soldiers on battle-fields."

"Not I. I have more respect for a _good_ dead dog than that. Look here,
is not that a capital box for it?" So saying he took up a small box full
of blocks, that had once served him for play-t