ere he was and take their seats.
Then he spoke to the hors-es and on they went. They had not gone far
when they found them-selves in a green lane. Com-ing to-ward them were
a lit-tle girl and boy. They were on their way home from school, as the
bag in the girl's hand showed, for it had books in it. As they drew up
by the fence to let our par-ty pass, Kate said:

"Their mam-ma lets them walk out though the grass is wet; but I would
much rath-er ride this way than walk at a-ny time, or play ei-ther, and
so would they, I know."

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"I am a-fraid the rain is not all o-ver yet," said pa-pa. "That black
cloud a-head will give us a wet-ting, I fear. I will drive fast-er."

Soon the drops be-gan to fall, but their car-riage had a top, and they
had with them rugs, so that they were not hurt at all. Kate, as she
peeped out, saw that all were not so safe. A girl and a boy were
crouched close un-der a bush by the road-side.

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"They will not get ve-ry wet," said mam-ma, "for the cloud is near-ly
passed by, and the sun shines once more."

"Are we not near home?" she said to pa-pa, "it is get-ting late, I
think. There goes a girl with her pail to drive the cows to the yard to
be milked. Kate must have her sup-per when we get back, and her bed-time
is sev-en o'clock, you know."

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"It is on-ly five now," said pa-pa; "we can have a good hour more, and
Kate won't mind, I fan-cy, if she is a lit-tle late for once."

"No, in-deed," said Kate; "I think a-ny way I am get-ting much too big
to go to bed at sev-en."

"There is a lit-tle girl," said mam-ma, as she looked in at the door
of a house that they were pass-ing, "that thinks bed-time is not far
off."

"She's on-ly a ba-by," said Kate with great in-dig-na-tion, "and I am
quite a large lit-tle wo-man."

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Pa-pa and mam-ma both laughed at Kate's tone. She did not like to be
laughed at at all, and so, to change the sub-ject, as they went by a
house, called out, "Why, what are that boy and girl do-ing at that
hogs-head?"

"Fish-ing," said pa-pa so-ber-ly.

"In a hogs-head!" said Kate. "Who ev-er caught fish in such a place?
No, they must be sail-ing chips. Yes," she went on, as she stretched her
short neck up as far as she could, "that is what they are do-ing; I can
see the chips."

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Just then pa-pa called out, "What in the world is this com-ing down the
road? Whoa! my boys, stead-y," he said to