en out upon the river, since the
shadow began to fall eastward upon its waters. The day had been so calm,
and everything their eyes fell upon was so luxuriantly lovely, that they
could not force themselves to come in doors, till the twilight overtook
them.

Old Ben--or rather our Ben, for he was not so very old, after all--who
considered himself master of the little craft which he was mooring in
the cove, had aided and abetted this truant disposition in the young
people, after a fashion that Mr. Harrington might not have approved; and
all that day there was a queer sort of smile upon his features, that
meant more than a host of words would have conveyed in another person.
Never, in his whole life, had Ben been so obliging in his management of
the boat. If Lina took a fancy to a branch of golden rod, or a cluster
of fringed gentian upon the shore, Ben would put in at the nearest
convenient point, and sit half an hour together in the boat, with his
arms folded over his oars, and his head bowed, as if fast asleep. Yet
Ben Benson, according to my best knowledge and belief, was never more
thoroughly awake than on that particular day.

They were gliding dreamily along at the foot of the Weehawken hills,
with their boat half full of fall flowers and branches, when Lina saw a
tree so brilliantly red, that she insisted on climbing to the rock where
it was rooted, in search of the leaves that were dropped sleepily from
its boughs.

Ben shot into a little inlet formed by two jutting rocks, and Ralph
sprang ashore, holding out his hand for Lina, who scarcely touched it as
she took her place by his side.

"Now for a scramble!" exclaimed the youth, grasping Lina's hand tightly
in his own; and away, like a pair of wild birds, the two young creatures
darted up the hill.

The rock, behind which the tree stood, was scattered over with leaves of
a deep crimson, brightening to scarlet on the edges, and veined with a
green so deep, that it seemed like black. Among the endless variety of
leaves they had discovered, these were the most singular, and Lina
gathered them up in handfuls only to scatter them abroad again when a
more tempting waif caught her eye.

"Wait a moment--wait, Ralph; oh, here is a whole drift of them; see how
bright they look, quivering over the fleeces of moss that slope down the
rocks. If I could but take the whole home, just as it is, for mamma!"

Lina was stooping eagerly as she spoke. A quick, rattling sound i