her, and even dwelt upon town business and the
doings of the selectmen, which might be talked of at any time. The
explanations that he gave of their excursion seemed quite unnecessary.
It was made entirely clear that he had a little business to do at
Topham Corners, and thought he had better give the little girls a
ride; they had been very steady at school, and he had finished
planting, and could take the day as well as not. Soon, however, they
all felt as if such an excursion were an every-day affair, and Susan
Ellen began to ask eager questions, while Katy silently sat apart
enjoying herself as she never had done before. She liked to see the
strange houses, and the children who belonged to them; it was
delightful to find flowers that she knew growing all along the road,
no matter how far she went from home. Each small homestead looked its
best and pleasantest, and shared the exquisite beauty that early
summer made,--shared the luxury of greenness and floweriness that
decked the rural world. There was an early peony or a late lilac in
almost every dooryard.

It was seventeen miles to Topham. After a while they seemed very far
from home, having left the hills far behind, and descended to a great
level country with fewer tracts of woodland, and wider fields where
the crops were much more forward. The houses were all painted, and the
roads were smoother and wider. It had been so pleasant driving along
that Katy dreaded going into the strange town when she first caught
sight of it, though Susan Ellen kept asking with bold fretfulness if
they were not almost there. They counted the steeples of four
churches, and their father presently showed them the Topham Academy,
where their grandmother once went to school, and told them that
perhaps some day they would go there too. Katy's heart gave a strange
leap; it was such a tremendous thing to think of, but instantly the
suggestion was transformed for her into one of the certainties of
life. She looked with solemn awe at the tall belfry, and the long rows
of windows in the front of the academy, there where it stood high and
white among the clustering trees. She hoped that they were going to
drive by, but something forbade her taking the responsibility of
saying so.

Soon the children found themselves among the crowded village houses.
Their father turned to look at them with affectionate solicitude.

"Now sit up straight and appear pretty," he whispered to them. "We're
among th