ldegarde?"

"No!" said the latter, still laughing heartily. "Bubble, it is
delightful to hear your nonsense again. But go on, and tell us about the
dear good friends."

"I'm coming to them in a minute," said Bubble; "but I must just tell you
about Jock first. You never saw a dog so pleased in all your life. He
went sniffing and smelling about, and barking those little, short
'Wuffs!' as he does when he is tickled about anything. Then he went to
look for his plate. But it wasn't there, of course; so he ran out to see
the hens, and pass the time o' day with them. They didn't mind him much;
but all of a sudden a cat came out from the woodshed,--a strange cat,
who didn't know Jock from a--from an elephant. Up went her back, and out
went her tail, and she growled and spit like a good one. Of course Jock
couldn't stand that, so he gave a 'ki-hi!' and after her. They made time
round that yard, now I tell you! The hens scuttled off, clucking as if
all the foxes in the county had broke loose; and for a minute or two it
seemed as if there was two or three dogs and half-a-dozen cats. Well,
sir!--I mean, ma'am! at last the cat made a bolt, and up the big maple
by the horse-trough. I thought she was safe then; but Jock, he gave a
spring and caught hold of the eend of her tail, and down they both come,
kerwumpus, on to the ground, and rolled eend over eend." (It was
observable that in the heat of narration Bubble dropped his school
English, and reverted to the vernacular of Glenfield.) "But that was
more than the old cat could stand, and she turned and went for _him_.
Ha, ha! 't was 'ki, hi!' out of the other side of his mouth then, I tell
ye, Miss Hildy! You never see a dog so scairt. And jest then, as 't
would happen, Mis' Hartley came in from the barn with a basket of eggs,
and you may--you may talk Greek to me, if that pup didn't bolt right
into her, so hard that she sat down suddent on the doorstep, and the
eggs rolled every which way. Then I caught him; and the cat, she lit out
somewhere, quicker 'n a wink, and Mis' Hartley sat up, and says she,
'Well, of all the world! Zerubbabel Chirk, you may just pick up them
eggs, if you _did_ drop from the moon!"

CHAPTER XIV.

TELEMACHUS GOES A-FISHING.

At this point Bubble's narrative was interrupted by the appearance of
Martha, making demand for her peas. Bubble was duly presented to her;
and she beamed on him through her spectacles, and was delighted to see
him, and qui