d less of smile
than they had ever seen on her face before. "I have no objection to the
rest of you going. You may do as you please about that, but I must keep
Richard at his work."

"I am particularly well pleased to learn that you have no objection to
our going," remarked Ford, with extreme politeness, and Dabney added,--

"It does me good too. We'll take Dick with us some other time. Mrs.
Myers, if you will have breakfast pretty early I'll be much obliged to
you."

Even Almira had never seen Dabney look quite so tall as he did at that
moment.

CHAPTER XXX.

DABNEY KINZER TRIES FRESH-WATER FISHING FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Conversation did not flourish at the supper-table that Friday evening.
There was a puzzled look on the faces of Mrs. Myers and her daughter,
and their three boarders seemed to be running a kind of race with each
other as to which of them should make out to be the most carefully
polite. As for poor Dick Lee, out there in the kitchen, the nearest he
came to breaking the silence was in a sort of smothered groan, and a
half-uttered determination to "git up good and early, an' dig dem
fellers de bes' worms dey is in de gardin."

There was talk enough in the room up stairs in the course of the
evening; but the door was closed, and there was no chance for any one in
the passage outside, no matter how silently he or she might go by, to
hear a distinct word of it.

"You see, boys," said Ford Foster, at the end of some extended remarks,
"I'm not at all mean or exacting. My father only pays Mrs. Myers three
dollars a week, and all she agreed to give was board. I can't expect her
to be any kind of an aunt, too, and let me go a-fishing. I'll take it
all off her hands, and let myself go."

"It's hard on Dick, though," said Dab, "and she's kind o' got the right
of it."

"I s'pose she has. But if he isn't earning all he gets, I'm mistaken.
Boys, if she puts any more work on him, what'll we do?"

"Eat," said Dab: "that's the only way we can make it up."

"We can't do it, Dab. Not unless the price of corn-meal goes up. Think
of eating another three dollars' worth of hasty-pudding every week!"

Their landlady came out in all her smiles at breakfast, and hoped they
would have good success with their fishing.

"Only," she added, "I'm not very fond of fish, and I never take the
trouble to clean them."

"We will try and catch ours ready cleaned, Mrs. Myers," said Ford. "Now,
boys, if you're ready,