the cavern was beginning to decline, their thoughts were suddenly
turned away from it altogether, by the news which Beechnut announced
to them on his return from the house, after his eighth load, that
Wallace had arrived.

"And has my brother Stuyvesant come too?" asked Malleville.

"I suppose so," said Beechnut, "there was a boy with him, about as
large as Phonny, but I did not hear what his name was."

"Oh, it is he! it is he!" said Malleville, clapping her hands.

Phonny and Malleville mounted upon the top of the load as soon as
Beechnut got it ready, and rode home. They ran into the house, while
Beechnut went to unload his wood. Just as Beechnut was ready to go out
of the yard again with his empty cart, Phonny came out.

"Cousin Wallace has really come," said Phonny.

"Ah!" said Beechnut, "and what does he have to say?"

"Why, he says," replied Phonny, "that he is going to make a man of
me."

"Is he?" said Beechnut. "Well, I hope he will take proper time for it.
I have no great opinion of the plan of making men out of boys before
their time."

So saying, Beechnut drove away, and Phonny went in.

CHAPTER II.

BOYISHNESS.

Two or three days after Wallace arrived at Franconia, he and Phonny
formed a plan to go and take a ride on horseback. They invited
Stuyvesant to go with them, but Stuyvesant said that Beechnut was
going to plow that day, and had promised to teach him to drive oxen.
He said that he should like better to learn to drive oxen than to take
a ride on horseback.

There was another reason which influenced Stuyvesant in making this
decision, and that was, that he had observed that there were only two
horses in the stable, and although he knew that Beechnut could easily
obtain another from some of the neighbors, still he thought that this
would make some trouble, and he was always very considerate about
making trouble. This was rather remarkable in Stuyvesant, for he was a
city boy, and city boys are apt to be very inconsiderate.

So Wallace and Phonny concluded to go by themselves. They mounted
their horses and rode together out through the great gate.

"Now," said Phonny, when they were fairly on the way, "we will have a
good time. This is just what I like. I would rather have a good ride
on horseback than any thing else. I wish that they would let me go
alone sometimes."

"Won't they?" asked Wallace.

"No, not very often," said Phonny.

"Do you know what the reason is?" aske