y," stammered Doad, much confused.

"And spoil the sport?" cried our visitor. "Young lady, I want those
'Jonahs' put back."

"Oh, but they are awful 'Jonahs!'" pleaded Theodora.

"I want those 'Jonahs' put back," insisted Mr. Hamlin. "I shall have to
decline to lunch here, unless the 'Jonahs' are in their proper places.
Fetch in the 'Jonahs.'"

Very shamefaced, Ellen brought them in.

"No hokus-pokus now," cried our visitor, and nothing would answer, but
that we should all turn our backs and shut our eyes, while Kate put them
among the others in the platter.

It was then passed and all chose one. "Each take a good, deep mouthful,"
cried Mr. Hamlin, entering mirthfully into the spirit of the game.
"Altogether--now!"

We all bit, eight bites at once; as it chanced no one got a "Jonah," and
the eight fried pies rapidly disappeared.

"But these are good!" cried our visitor, "Mine was gooseberry." Then
turning to Theodora, "How many times can a fellow try for a 'Jonah'
here?"

"Five times!" replied Doad, laughing and not a little pleased with the
praise.

The platter was passed again, and again no one got bran and cayenne.

But at the third passing, I saw Kate start visibly when our visitor
chose his pie. "All ready. Bite!" he cried; and we bit! but at the first
taste he stopped short, rolled his eyes around and shook his head with
his capacious mouth full.

"Oh, but you need not eat it, sir!" cried Theodora, rushing round to
him. "You need not do anything!"

But without a word our bulky visitor had sunk slowly out of his chair
and pushing it back, disappeared under the long table.

For a moment we all sat, scandalized, then shouted in spite of
ourselves. In the midst of our confused hilarity, the table began to
oscillate; it rose slowly several inches, then moved off, rattling,
toward the sitting-room door! Our jolly visitor had it on his back and
was crawling ponderously but carefully away with it on his hands and
knees;--and the rest of us were getting ourselves and our chairs out of
the way! In fact, the remainder of that luncheon was a perfect gale of
laughter. The table _walked_ clean around the room and came very
carefully back to its original position.

After the hilarity had subsided, the girls served some very nice large,
sweet blackberries, which our visitor appeared to relish greatly. He
told us of his boyhood at Paris Hill; of his fishing for trout in the
brooks thereabouts, of the time he br