goes
Sundays?"

"No," said Theodora, with a sigh.

"Well, I do not, but there is something wrong going on. I've thought so
for some time. The Old Squire does not know of it."

"I thought he seemed to suspect something last Sunday," said Theodora.

"Yes, but he doesn't see as much as I do."

"Couldn't you find out more about it?" asked Theodora.

"Very likely; but then I do not like to go spying after Halse."

"But perhaps you ought."

"I don't know about that."

They both seemed perplexed. Addison was turning over leaves in the book;
and Theodora sat looking at the birds, absently.

"Let's not make any secret about going to see the herons," she said at
length. "Even if you don't want to ask Halstead to go, let him know we
are going, and if he wants to go with us, do not say anything against
it. We must not shun him, or have him think we do."

It was left like that.

The Old Squire spoke of our going at breakfast the next morning, and I
heard Halstead asking Theodora about it afterwards. I knew from what he
said that night after we had gone up to bed, that he meant to go.

Saturday was fair. After dinner Addison went up to his room a few
minutes, then came down with the gun. Theodora had put on her hat and
came out under the trees where I was standing. Seeing us, Addison came
along and asked if we were ready. Ellen and little Wealthy also joined
us. Halstead was sitting at the front door, and as we started off, he
came along, saying, "I guess I'll go, too. Ad forgot to invite me, I
suppose."

Addison did not reply, and we went on for some time without speaking.

Leaving the road at the turn by the school-house, we went through the
pastures toward the valley of Foy Brook. The great pines in which the
herons built stand a little up from the lake. There are several groves
of them; many of the trees were gnarled, for which reason the lumbermen
had rejected them; some of them were four and five feet in diameter and
crooked into fantastic shapes.

Very agreeably and somewhat to our surprise, Halstead was on his good
behavior. He was polite to the girls and helped them over the brush
fences; and when, on coming nearer the pines, Addison asked us to go in
as quietly as we could, he complied, not even allowing a twig to snap
under his feet.

Addison wished to see the herons undisturbed; and the rest of us kept a
little to the rear while he went on cautiously. Presently he stopped,
then turned and whispered