ime to get up into this tree myself, before he dashed at me. Luckily
I was out of his reach; but I very much fear I have lost some of my
property."

"No, he hasn't," said Pomona. "It was a big book he dropped. I picked
it up and took it into the house. It's full of pictures of pears and
peaches and flowers. I've been lookin' at it. That's how I knew what he
was. And there was no call for his gittin' up a tree. Lord Edward never
would have gone after him if he hadn't run as if he had guilt on his
soul."

"I suppose, then," said I, addressing the individual in the cherry-tree,
"that you came here to sell me some trees."

"Yes, sir," said he quickly, "trees, shrubs, vines,
evergreens,--everything suitable for a gentleman's country villa. I
can sell you something quite remarkable, sir, in the way of
cherry-trees,--French ones, just imported; bear fruit three times
the size of anything that could be produced on a tree like this. And
pears--fruit of the finest flavor and enormous size--"

"Yes," said Pomona. "I seen them in the book. But they must grow on a
ground-vine. No tree couldn't hold such pears as them."

Here Euphemia reproved Pomona's forwardness, and I invited the
tree-agent to get down out of the tree.

"Thank you," said he; "but not while that dog is loose. If you will
kindly chain him up, I will get my book, and show you specimens of some
of the finest small fruit in the world, all imported from the first
nurseries of Europe--the Red-gold Amber Muscat grape,--the--"

"Oh, please let him down!" said Euphemia, her eyes beginning to sparkle.

I slowly walked toward the tramp-tree, revolving various matters in my
mind. We had not spent much money on the place during the winter, and
we now had a small sum which we intended to use for the advantage of the
farm, but had not yet decided what to do with it. It behooved me to be
careful.

I told Pomona to run and get me the dog-chain, and I stood under the
tree, listening, as well as I could, to the tree-agent talking to
Euphemia, and paying no attention to the impassioned entreaties of the
tramp in the crotch above me. When the chain was brought, I hooked one
end of it in Lord Edward's collar, and then I took a firm grasp of the
other. Telling Pomona to bring the tree-agent's book from the house, I
called to that individual to get down from his tree. He promptly obeyed,
and taking the book from Pomona, began to show the pictures to Euphemia.

"You had better