nd
Rudolph was right about that. It was only because he hated to give the
thing up, even more than the girls hated to have him, that made him
persevere. "Well, here they are at last!" he cried exultingly, a few
moments later; "one, two three, four of them, perfect little beauties
too. And they must belong to Betsy; they're just like her."

"Bring one out, bring one out!" called both the children, and fairly
dancing with delight.

"Bring out your grandmother! It's all I can manage to bring myself out,
without holding on to a puppy."

"Very well," Tattine called back, with her usual instant acceptance of
the inevitable, "but I know what," and then she was off in a flash, with
Mabel following closely to find out what WHAT might be.

It was Joseph the gardener whom Tattine wanted, and she found him where
she thought she would, killing potato-bugs in the kitchen-garden.

"What do you think, Joseph? Betsy has a beautiful set of little setters
under the piazza. Come quick, please! and see how we can get them out."

Joseph followed obediently. "Guess we'll have to let them stay there
till they crawl out," said Joseph; "Betsy'll take as good care of them
there as anywhere," whereupon the children looked the picture of misery
and despair. At this moment Rudolph emerged from the hole a mass of
grass and dirt stains, and both Mabel and Tattine thought he had been
pretty plucky, though quite too much preoccupied to tell him so, but
Rudolph happily felt himself repaid for hardships endured, in the
delight of his discovery.

"It will be a month before they'll have sense enough to crawl out," he
remarked to Joseph, "and they're wedged in between some old planks in
very uncomfortable fashion. They look like fine little fellows too. I
think we ought to manage in some way to get them out."

"And it would be bad if any of them died there," said Joseph, rubbing his
head and still ruminating on the subject; "very bad. Well, we'll have to
see what we` can do about it."

"Will you see right away?" urged Tattine eagerly.

"May as well, I reckon," and Joseph walked off in the direction of the
tool-house, but to Tattine's regret evidently did not appreciate any
need for extreme haste.

In a little while he was back again with Patrick, and both of them were
carrying spades. "There's only one way to do it," he explained, as
they set to work; "you see, the pillars of this porch rest on a stone
foundation, so as to support the rooms abov