Many paws were given, and heartily shaken, for the boys were charmed with Dan’s pleasure, and crowded round him to shake hands and expatiate on the beauties of their gift. In the midst of this pleasant chatter, Dan’s eye went to Mrs. Jo, who stood outside the group enjoying the scene with all her heart.
“No, I had nothing to do with it. The boys got it up all themselves,” she said, answering the grateful look that seemed to thank her for that happy moment. Dan smiled, and said, in a tone that only she could understand,—
“It’s you all the same;” and making his way through the boys, he held out his hand first to her and then to the good Professor, who was beaming benevolently on his flock.
He thanked them both with the silent, hearty squeeze he gave the kind hands that had held him up and led him into the safe refuge of a happy home. Not a word was spoken, but they felt all he would say, and little Teddy expressed their pleasure for them as he leaned from his father’s arm to hug the boy, and say, in his baby way,—
“My dood Danny! everybody loves him now.”
“Come here, show off your spy-glass, Dan, and let us see some of your magnified pollywogs and annymalcumisms as you call ’em,” said Jack, who felt so uncomfortable during this scene that he would have slipped away if Emil had not kept him.
“So I will, take a squint at that and see what you think of it,” said Dan, glad to show off his precious microscope.
He held it over a beetle that happened to be lying on the table, and Jack bent down to take his squint, but looked up with an amazed face, saying,—
“My eye! what nippers the old thing has got! I see now why it hurts so confoundedly when you grab a dor-bug and he grabs back again.”
“He winked at me,” cried Nan, who had poked her head under Jack’s elbow and got the second peep.