h him last
winter."

"Yes, I am."

"What a nuisance that Jacob himself did not come! We haven't any use at
all for young ones like you up here."

The speaker, who was the larger of the two boys, stood awhile waiting
for a reply; but Lisbeth did not know what answer to make to his remark
and therefore said nothing. So he continued: "Well, we only wanted to
say to you--I'm Ole Hoegseth and that fellow over there is Peter
Lunde--that you must keep out of our way. You must not dare to come a
step beyond a line running from Pancake Stone down around the Sloping
Marsh to the Pointing Stump near the Hoegseth cow path. If you let
your animals graze beyond that line, your brother Jacob, next winter,
shall get all the thrashings you ought to have this summer."

Lisbeth was dreadfully frightened and her mouth began to tremble. Then
the second boy said to the larger one, "Yes, but Jacob is so strong
that he will get the best of you."

"Not when I have brought myself into good training. Hoi!" and he turned
a handspring.

"Now you know what Jacob may expect, so take care what you do! We boys
are going up to the Sloping Marsh to bathe. Ho-i-ho!"

With shout and call they took their way up over the hill again. At the
top they looked back and then glanced a little dubiously at each other.
Lisbeth Longfrock was still standing where they had left her, and--she
was crying!

Lisbeth felt very small and forlorn as she stood there. She certainly
did not want to do anything that Jacob would get a thrashing for. If
she only knew where it was that she was not allowed to go! but she had
not the least idea where either the Pointing Stump or the Sloping Marsh
lay. All that she could do would be to keep with her animals and find
out about these places later.

Sometime afterwards, when Lisbeth had mounted a small round hill, she
heard the bells of the boys' flocks again. That gave her a fright, and
she began to chase her animals off in another direction. But as she
turned around to do so she saw, far, far down the marsh, two white
figures running, jumping, and playing leapfrog in the sunshine beside a
gleaming pond. The boys had let their flocks stray away from them!

Lisbeth dreaded incurring more displeasure, but surely something ought
to be done. There was no help for it; she would really have to take
care of the stray animals for a while. The boys could not be angry at
that, she knew, because the greatest disgrace that can befall a h