g walk
was over. "Her nose fell on a rock," she said; but as it was only
grazed a little, she soon forgot about it.

"This is something worth while, now," said Grace, after they had at
last reached the field, and were seated in the tall grass. "The
strawberries are as thick as spatter."

"Yes," said Susy, "and grandma and aunt Madge will be so glad to see
our baskets full they'll certainly be glad we didn't stay in the
meadow. Big as your thumb, ain't they?"

[Illustration: FLYING FROM THE FIELD.]

You see the girls were trying to stifle that still, small voice, and
they tried to believe they were having a good time.

Grace and Susy had got their baskets nearly half full, and Prudy had
covered the bottom of hers with leaves, stems, and a few berries, when
a man's voice was heard muttering, not far off.

"O Grace," whispered Susy, "that's Mr. Judkins!"

He carried a whetstone, on which he was sharpening his jackknife.

"Ah," said he, talking to himself, and not appearing to notice the
girls, "I never would have thought that these little children--ah,
would have come into my field--ah, and trampled down my grass! I shall
hate--ah, to cut off their little ears--ah, and see the blood running
down!"

I suppose it was not two minutes before the children had left that
field, pulling the screaming Prudy through the bars as roughly as if
she had been a sack of wool instead of flesh and blood,--their hair
flying in the wind, and their poor little hearts pounding against
their sides like trip-hammers. If the field had been on fire they
could not have run faster, dragging helpless Prudy, who screamed all
the way at the very top of her voice.

Susy and Prudy had thrown away their pretty little baskets. Grace had
pushed hers up her arm, and her sleeve was soaking in the red juice of
the bruised strawberries, while little streams of juice were trickling
down her nice, buff-colored dress, ruining it entirely.

"You hadn't ought to have took me up there," sobbed Prudy, as soon as
she could find her voice; and these were the first words spoken.

"O, hush, hush right up!" cried Susy, in terror. "He's after us, to
take us to jail."

The family were really frightened when the panting children rushed
into the house in such a plight.

"It was a crazy drunk man," cried Prudy, "and he had a axe----"

"No," said Grace, "it was that wicked Mr. Judkins, and it was his
jackknife."

"And he snips off your ears and nose," broke i