offered to take her
across.

Going round by a field-path that led to her home past Farmer Brown's farm,
she saw a little girl sitting under a tree, whom she at once guessed must
be little Martha, the farmer's only child. She was gazing up at a flight
of pigeons that went fluttering over the houses before they lighted down
upon the roof of the barn. Caroline had often seen Martha at church, and
once or twice nurse had taken her to the farm, when she had gone to see
Mrs. Brown; so she stopped to ask the little girl what she was looking at
so earnestly.

"I'm looking at the pigeons, miss," said little Martha, rising to drop a
courtesy to the young lady from the Hall.

"They seem to be all pure white," said Caroline, sitting down on the roots
of the tree, and bidding Martha take her seat again. "They are very
pretty."

[Illustration: LITTLE MARTHA.]

"Yes, miss, they are pretty," said Martha, looking with pride at her
favourites; "but they are not all white; there be two of them blue, and
I'm so sorry for it."

"Why, what makes you sorry for the blue ones?" said Caroline, smiling.
"Don't you like blue ones?"

"Oh yes, I like them very much," said Martha, "but father doesn't; and
he's going to shoot them to-night."

"Oh, how cruel of him," said Caroline; "you must ask him not to do it,
Martha. They cannot help being blue, you know."

Martha looked a little distressed at the idea of her kind father being
considered cruel by the young lady, but she didn't know very well how to
answer her. "Father doesn't mean to be cruel, miss," said Martha; "but he
likes all the pigeons to be white; and if a blue one comes he shoots it. I
will ask father not to shoot them, and perhaps he won't."

"Oh yes, please do ask him," replied Caroline; "and tell him if he only
could catch them, and send them down to me, I would give him my new
shilling papa gave me on my birth-day. Tell him to be sure and not to
shoot them."

Martha went off at once to look for her father, but as he had gone away to
a distant part of the farm, Caroline had to be content to await his
return, and leaving the matter in Martha's hands for the present,
proceeded on her way homewards.

When she arrived at home, she was very glad to find that her mamma had not
returned from town; so that, unless Caroline told her, she could not know
of Herbert's bad behaviour; and Caroline was determined to keep it secret.

If Mrs. Ashcroft saw that the children were not suc