Canal Company. Cold was the fireplace
before which had once rested the sheep-skin slippers for the guests;
empty was the larder where at this season was wont to be game in
abundance, sweet corn, luscious melons--the trophies of the hunt, the
fruits of the field; missing the neat, compact little keg whose spigot
had run with consolation for the wanderer!

Confronted by the deserted house, where they had expected convivial
cheer, there was no alternative but to proceed, and their journey was
resumed with some discomfiture to the occupants of the coach which now
labored like a portly Spanish galleon, struck by a squall. They had
advanced in this manner for some distance through furrow and groove,
when the vehicle gave a sharper lurch down a deeper rut; a crash was
followed by cries of affright and the chariot abruptly settled on one
side. Barnes held the plunging horses in control, while the gentlemen
scrambled to the ground and assisted the ladies to dismount.

"Any one hurt?" asked the manager from his box.

"No damage done--except to the coach," said Hawkes.

By this time the horses had become quiet and Barnes, now that the
passengers were rescued, like a good skipper, left the quarter deck.

"We couldn't have chosen a better place for our lunch," he remarked
philosophically. "How fortunate we should have broken down where we
did!"

"Very fortunate!" echoed the old lady ironically.

The accident had happened upon a slight plateau, of which they
accordingly took possession, tethering the horses to graze. From the
branches overhead the squirrels surveyed them as if asking what manner
of people were these, and the busy woodpecker ceased his drumming,
cocking his head inquisitively at the intruders; then shyly drew away,
mounting spirally the trunk of the tree to the hole, chiseled by his
strong beak for a nest. As Barnes gazed around upon the pleasing
prospect, he straightway became the duke in the comedy of the forest.

"Ha, my brothers in exile," he exclaimed, "are not these woods more
free from peril than the envious court?"

"All it wants," said the tragedian, hungrily, "is mutton, greens and a
foaming pot."

"I can't promise the foaming pot," answered the manager. "But, at
least, we have a well-filled hamper."

Soon the coffee was simmering and such viands as they had brought with
them--for Barnes was a far-sighted and provident manager--were spread
out in tempting profusion. Near them a swift-flowing str