nes to stone them, and then
they all ran away, jumping and jeering till they got out of sight. It was
about dinner-time, anyway.

No one was left but Pony Baker. He stooped down over Jim when he sat
crying over his foot. "Does it hurt you much, Jimmy?" he asked.

"Yes, it hurts dreadfully, Pony. The skin's all rubbed off. I'm afraid
it's broken my leg."

"Well, let me help you home," said Pony. "Your mother can tie it up,
then."

He made Jim lean on him, and keep trying his foot, and pretty soon they
found he could walk with it nearly the same as the other foot, and before
they got to Jim's house they were talking and laughing together.

After that, Pony Baker gave up running off to the Indians. He about gave
up running off altogether. He had a splendid Fourth of July. His mother
would not let him stay up the whole of the night before, but she let him
get up at four o'clock, and fire off both his packs of shooting-crackers;
and though she had forbidden him to go down to the river-bank where the
men were firing off the cannon, he hardly missed it. He felt sleepy as
soon as his crackers were done, and another fellow who was with him came
into the parlor, and they both lay down on the carpet and went to sleep
there, and slept till breakfast-time. After breakfast he went up to the
court-house yard, with some other fellows, and then, after dinner, when
they all came round and begged, and the big fellows promised to watch out
for Pony, his mother let him go out to the second lock with them, and go
in swimming in the canal. He did not know why this should be such a great
privilege, but it was. He had never been out to the second lock before. It
was outside of the corporation line, and that was a great thing in itself.

After supper, Pony's mother let him fire off his powder-snake, and she
even came out and looked at it, with her fingers in her ears. He promised
her that it wouldn't make any noise, but she could not believe him; and
when the flash came, she gave a little whoop, and ran in-doors. It shamed
him before the boys, for fear they would laugh; and she acted even worse
when his father wished to let him go up to the court-house yard to see the
fireworks.

A lot of the fellows were going, and he was to go with the crowd, but his
father was to come a little behind, so as to see that nothing happened to
him; and when they were just starting off what should she do but hollo to
his father from the door where she was st