and kicked him brutally in
private.

"I ain't afraid! You won't hurt me, will you, old feller? See there
now!--he knows I 'm a friend, and takes to me right off," said Ben,
with an arm around Duke's neck, and his own cheek confidingly laid
against the animal's; for the intelligent eyes spoke to him as plainly
as the little whinny which he understood and accepted as a welcome.

The Squire saw it all from the open window, and suspecting from Pat's
face that trouble was brewing, called out,--

"Let the lad harness Duke, if he can. I'm going out directly, and he
may as well try that as any thing."

Ben was delighted, and proved himself so brisk and handy that the roomy
chaise stood at the door in a surprisingly short time, with a smiling
little ostler at Duke's head when the Squire came out.

His affection for the horse pleased the old gentleman, and his neat way
of harnessing suited as well; but Ben got no praise, except a nod and a
brief "All right, boy," as the equipage went creaking and jogging away.

Four sleek cows filed out of the barnyard when Pat opened the gate, and
Ben drove them down the road to a distant pasture where the early grass
awaited their eager cropping. By the school they went, and the boy
looked pityingly at the black, brown, and yellow heads bobbing past the
windows as a class went up to recite; for it seemed a hard thing to the
liberty-loving lad to be shut up there so many hours on a morning like
that.

But a little breeze that was playing truant round the steps did Ben a
service without knowing it, for a sudden puff blew a torn leaf to his
feet, and seeing a picture he took it up. It evidently had fallen from
some ill-used history, for the picture showed some queer ships at
anchor, some oddly dressed men just landing, and a crowd of Indians
dancing about on the shore. Ben spelt out all he could about these
interesting personages, but could not discover what it meant, because
ink evidently had deluged the page, to the new reader's great
disappointment.

"I'll ask the girls; may be they will know," said Ben to himself as,
after looking vainly for more stray leaves, he trudged on, enjoying the
bobolink's song, the warm sunshine, and a comfortable sense of
friendliness and safety, which soon set him to whistling as gayly as any
blackbird in the meadow.

CHAPTER VI

A CIRCULATING LIBRARY

After supper that night, Bab and Betty sat in the old porch playing with
Josephus and Belinda