wended her way
quickly to her early home, thinking, as she went, what a blessing it was
to have so kind a friend as Aunt Mary. During the time that Mrs. Ellis
had been so unwell, the children had all dined together in the nursery
at two o'clock; and Aunt Mary insisted that there should be no departure
from this rule on her account, as she intended to make one of the party.
At the hour appointed, the bell rang for dinner, and soon all were
seated at the table but Fred; that young gentleman had chosen to make
himself scarce, and notwithstanding the ringing of the bell, out of
doors and in, a second time, he did not make his appearance.

Great was the consternation of nurse at not being able to find Freddy;
she began to fear that he had run away from home to avoid going to Oak
Villa. He had once played such a trick, and made everybody miserable
until he was found in the evening, and brought home by a woman who
washed for his mamma. Mabel and Julia did not feel at all comfortable,
though Aunt Mary would not let them leave the table to go in search of
the truant.

'Don't distress yourselves, my dears,' said Miss Livesay; 'depend upon
it, the culprit is not very far off. Nurse and cook will look after
him.'

And so the dinner proceeded, though Mabel would much rather have gone
without, had she been permitted. All at once a thought struck her, and
she exclaimed: 'I'll tell you where I think he is, aunt; where we once
found him before!' and Mabel rose up and went to the window which looked
on the side of the house where there was a large dog-kennel, and over
it a wooden shed with a window in it, to which shed access was gained by
a ladder. 'Yes!' exclaimed Mabel, 'I see the key is in the door where
the apples are kept. We once found Fred there asleep on the straw;
perhaps he is there now!' and the anxious girl was making her way out of
the room, when a loud scream brought her back to the window, from which
she beheld Freddy with his foot caught in the top step of the ladder,
and his head ignominiously resting on the hard step.

Mabel was off in an instant, but quick as she was, cook was there before
her, and Fred had been turned right side upwards, and his blubbered face
wiped with that towel of all work, Susan's apron; while his forehead
presented a lump sufficiently large to account for the explosion they
had been treated to.

No doubt it had been Master Freddy's intentions, when he went into this
hiding-place, to remai