rden to find Fani.

"Come along, come with me! I know something nice! We can do it now!"
and, dragging the boy along with her, the impetuous girl told him that
the day before she had seen a fisherman out in his boat on the river,
and she had made an excuse to go into the kitchen to speak to the cook,
because she knew that children were not allowed there unless they had an
errand to do; and she had found out where the fisherman lived, and of
course they could hire his boat. In that they could go out on the river,
and she would keep the boat still while Fani took a sketch of the ruin.
If he could not finish it the first time, they could go again and again.
It wouldn't cost so much to hire the boat that they couldn't take it
several times if necessary.

Fani was delighted. But there was one difficulty.

"Who will row us, Elsli? I don't know how, and the fisherman couldn't
leave his work so long."

"I can row myself. I took four people out in a boat once, when I was
making a visit, near a lake, to some friends of mamma's. I have often
rowed about alone. You don't know how skilful I am."

Fani was quite satisfied. He never dreamed of questioning Emma's
capability. They went down to the road, and, after looking about for
some time and retracing their steps, they found at last the narrow
foot-path leading to the left, and, after walking a little way, they
saw before them the clump of willows at a short distance. It was now
nearly evening, for they had been a long time finding the way. The path
they had taken was twice as long as that by the river, by which Elsli
went; but they knew nothing of that. Under the willows all was still;
there was nothing to be seen beyond but more willows, and the sound of
the rushing river came through the silence to their ears. The children
came in among the trees till they could see the water that flowed
beyond. There lay the boat not far from them, and behind the bushes a
slender thread of blue smoke rising into the air showed them where the
fisherman's hut was. A man was just going down to the edge of the water,
and presently he began to hammer at something in the boat. Emma ran
towards him, and Fani followed.

"Are you the fisherman?" asked Emma?

The man raised his head, and stopped hammering.

"Yes, I am; at your service," he answered, politely. "Do you want to buy
some fish?"

Emma explained that they only wanted to hire a boat, just for an hour or
two; not to go far away from th