I shouldn't like them to discover my whereabouts, unless, miss,
I knew 'em to be friends," said Jupp in answer.

"And how would you manage to have no smoke?" she next pertinently
inquired, like the sensible young lady she was.

"By always burning the very driest wood I could find, miss," replied
Jupp. "It is only the green branches and such as has sap in it that
makes the smoke."

"Oh!" ejaculated Conny, "I shall remember that. Thank you, Mr Jupp,
for telling me. I often wondered how they contrived to conceal their
camp-fires."

Teddy, with Cissy and Liz, had meanwhile been lying on the grass,
overcome with their exertions in stick-gathering, and were intently
watching a little glade in front of the elm-tree, some distance off
under a coppice. Here they knew there were lots of rabbit-burrows, and
they were waiting for some of the little animals to come out and perform
their toilets, as they usually did in the afternoon and early evening,
preparing themselves for bed-time, as the children said; but, for a long
while, not one appeared in sight.

"Dere's a bunny at last," whispered Cissy as one peeped out from its
hiding-place; and, seeing no cause for alarm in the presence of the
little picnic party, with whom no doubt it was now well acquainted, it
came further out from the coppice, sitting up on its haunches in the
usual free-and-easy fashion of rabbitikins, and beginning to comb out
its whiskers with its paws.

At the sight of this, Puck, who of course was cuddled up tightly in
Teddy's arms, began to bark; but it was such a feeble little bark that
not even the most timid of rabbits would have been frightened at it,
while as for the one Puck wished to terrify, this simply treated him
with the utmost contempt, taking no notice either of bark or dog.

Three or four other rabbits, too, impressed with the beauty of the
afternoon and the advantages of the situation, now followed their
comrade's example, coming out from their burrows and squatting on the
turf of the sloping glade in a semicircle opposite the children; while,
the more poor Puck tried to express his indignation at their free-and-
easiness, the more nonchalantly they regarded him, sitting up
comfortably and combing away, enjoying themselves as thoroughly as if
there was no such thing as a dog in existence, Puck's faint coughing
bark being utterly thrown away upon them.

"Imp'dent tings!" said Teddy, unloosing the small terrier; "do and lick
'em, Pu