d to do when
he grew big. Down in his heart he held a far greater ambition than the
others dreamed of. It was too great to be told--so great he scarcely
knew what it was himself. So he only shook his small head and closed his
lips tightly, and the rest forgot him and chattered on.

Away beyond the dark woods, the sunset shone red and gold between the
black tree trunks. The little boy gazed at it wonderingly. The sight of
those morning and evening glories always stirred his child's soul,
and made him long to go away--away, he knew not where--to do great and
glorious deeds. The Mackay boys' grandfather had fought at Waterloo, and
little George Leslie, the youngest of six, had heard many, many tales
of that gallant struggle, and every time they had been told him he had
silently resolved that, some day, he too would do just such brave deeds
as his grandfather had done.

As the boys talked on, and the little fellow gazed at the sunset and
dreamed, the big stone cracked in two, the fire died down, and still
there came no welcome call to supper from any of the farmhouses in
sight. The Mackay boys had been trained in a fine old-fashioned Canadian
home, and did not dream of quitting work until they were summoned. But
the visitors were merely visitors, and could go home when they liked.
The future admiral of the pirate-killing fleet declared he must go and
get supper, or he'd eat the grass, he was so hungry. The coming Premier
of Canada and the Indian-slayer agreed with him, and they all jumped the
fence, and went whooping away over the soft brown fields toward home.

There was just one big stone left. It was a huge boulder, four feet
across.

"We'll never get enough wood to crack that, G. L.," declared his
brother. "It just can't be done."

But little George answered just as any one who knew his determination
would have expected. In school he astonished his teacher by learning
everything at a tremendous rate, but there was one small word he refused
to learn--the little word "can't." His bright eyes flashed, now, at the
sound of it. He jumped upon the big stone, and clenched his fist.

"It's GOT to be broken!" he cried. "I WON'T let it beat me." He leaped
down, and away he ran toward the woods. His brother caught his spirit,
and ran too. They forgot they were both tired and hungry. They seized a
big limb of a fallen tree and dragged it across the field. They chopped
it into pieces, and piled it high with plenty of brush, up