an or Seth. Aunt Barbara was
always busy housekeeping with Serena just after breakfast, and Betty was
left to herself for a while; it would take stern principle to settle at
once to the day's work, but to-morrow morning the plan should be tried.
Betty had offered, soon after she came, to take care of the flowers in
the house, to pick fresh ones or to put fresh water in the vases, but
she had forgotten to do it regularly of late, though Aunt Barbara had
been so pleased in the beginning. "I ought to do my part in the house,"
she thought, and again the gay "rude beckies" nodded approval, and a
catbird overhead said a great deal on the subject which was difficult to
understand but very insistent. Betty was beginning to be cheerful again;
in truth, nothing gets a girl out of a tangle of provocations and
bewilderments and regrets like going out into the fields alone.

Nobody had driven by in all the time that Betty had sat in the fence
corner until now there was a noise of wheels in the distance. It seemed
suddenly as if the session were over, and Betty, quite restored to her
usual serenity, said good-by to her solitary self and the cheerful
wild-flowers. "I am going to be good, papa," she thought with a warm
love in her hopeful heart, as she looked out through the young black
cherry-trees to see who was going by in the road. "Seth! Seth Pond!" she
called, "Where are you going?" for it proved to be that important member
of the aunts' household, with the old wagon and Jimmy, the old black
horse.

"Goin' to mill," answered Seth, recognizing the voice and looking about
him, much pleased. "Want to come? be pleased to have ye," and Betty was
over the fence in a minute and appeared to his view from behind the
thicket. I dare say the flowers waved a farewell and looked fondly after
her as she drove away.

Seth was not in the least vexed by his thoughts. He was much gratified
by Betty's company and behaved with great dignity, giving her much
information about the hay crop, and how many tons were likely to be cut
in this field and the next. They could not drive very fast because the
wagon was well loaded with bags of corn, and so they jogged on at an
even pace, though Seth flourished his whip a good deal, striking
sometimes at the old horse, and sometimes at the bushes by the roadside.

"Do you expect I shall ever get to be much of a hand to play the
violin?" he inquired with much earnestness.

"I don't know, Seth," answered Bett