istory; and I have some where a picture of a monstrous bat
sucking the blood from a man's veins. But all this is now known to be
fabulous. No kind of bat will attack an animal as large as itself, nor
enter a house when there is an abundance of fruit and insects in the
field."

"Shall we let this bat go now?" said John. Mr. Harvey said yes; and then
John lifted it on a large sheet of paper, and threw it into the air. In
a moment it spread out its thin wings, and after flying about the room
two or three times, passed out of the window. Mr. Harvey told them, that
although the bat was so feeble when on the ground, yet its strength of
wing was greater than that of any bird.

[Illustration]

CHAPTER VIII.

THE WALK TO THE CREEK.

The next day there was a heavy thunder shower, in the morning, which
compelled the boys to stay in the house; and in the afternoon the
teacher of the academy paid Mr. Harvey a visit. During the time that he
staid, Thomas, with his brother and cousin, were told to remain in the
house. But the next day was cool and pleasant, and they started early on
a ramble through the fields. As they passed close to a farm house,
Samuel saw a large dog chained to a tree, in the yard. It looked very
fierce at them as they passed, and then began to growl and bark. Thomas
told his cousin, that this dog had bitten several persons in the
neighborhood, and that some of the school boys had tried to poison it;
but that the farmer was careful always to keep it chained, so that no
body might get a chance to catch it in the road.

About half a mile further onward was a fine stream of water. It began in
the hills, and ran winding along, deeper and broader, to a great
distance. Mr. Harvey owned several farms along this creek; and here
Thomas and John often came, in summer evenings, to swim. The water was
clear and pure, so that hundreds of fish could be seen sporting around
the shores.

When the boys reached this creek, they sat down under a shady tree, to
watch the fishes, and listen to the songs of the birds, on the bushes
that hung over the water. In a short time, a number of eels came from
under a large stone, one after the other, and after swimming about for a
little while, buried themselves in the mud. Samuel asked Thomas where so
many came from.

"They live in the water," replied his cousin. "On a pleasant evening you
can see many more swimming among the stones, and the roots of trees, by
the edge of th