it sorry to go away from the old place?"

"Horribly," said the boy in a low, husky voice. "What fun we used to
have!"

"Yes," said Ned, "before everything got to be so dull because things
failed so and made my father so low-spirited."

"He wasn't so low-spirited as my father was; but I s'pose there wasn't
much difference," replied Chris, to the accompaniment of Griggs' hammer
and the fidgeting of his nag. "Quiet, will you, stupid! He isn't going
to hurt you."

"I say, how jolly grumpy it used to make Mr Wilton."

"Hah!" ejaculated Chris. "A year ago he was always ready for a bit of
fun, fishing, snaking, squirrel-hunting, or seeking honey. But there,
no wonder; he felt like father, that it was all lose, lose, lose, and
that it was unfair not to be at work."

"And it took all the fun out of our games."

"Yes, no more games now, Neddy. Father said last night when we were
alone that we must bid good-bye to being boys with the place--leave all
that here, and begin to think of being and acting like men."

"Yes, and my father said something like that to me, Chris; and somehow
now it has come to making the start I don't feel as if I want to be a
man yet. It was so jolly to be a boy here in the dear old place. Oh,
bother the old gold! I wish that poor old chap hadn't come here to
die."

"So do I," said Chris, and his voice sounded very husky now as he gazed
round him at the many familiar objects. "I say, look how my apple-tree
has grown!"

"Yes, and my pear," said Ned quickly. "It has beaten your old apple all
to bits."

"Well, of course it has," said Chris roughly. "Pears do run up tall and
straight and weak. Apples grow stout and strong and slow."

"They've done well enough."

"Yes; but then see what pains we took to water and manure them. Nothing
else has done well."

"No, nothing. As father says, it has all been like slow ruin coming on;
but I like the dear old place all the same, because we helped to make it
out of the wilderness into a great garden. Oh, Chris, I wish we weren't
going."

"So do I, but it's of no use to go on wishing. We should have felt much
more miserable when we were starting to go back to England, not knowing
what we were going to do. We should have had to go, and this is going
to be like a great roving holiday, seeing something fresh and new every
day."

"So it will be. There, I begin to feel better now. I say, look at the
sun rising--isn't it glorious!"

"Al