“So ’tis, and there’ll be a jolly good time; but there’s picnics every little while, and it’s awful dull work hoeing corn. Just see these weeds—stubborn, horrid things!” and the boy struck at them with a force that cut the corn off.
“O, Frank, there’ll be a hole here now all Summer?” and Kate stooped and gathered up the broad leaves that had fallen.
“I didn’t mean to do it, Kate. See here, if you really mean to help me—there’s Hugo, the new hand; he don’t know anything about it, and you just tell him to fetch his hoe up this way.”
“O, Frank, you don’t mean that!” with a throb in her throat that Frank tried to forget that he had heard. “Just think how mean that would be, when you promised to do every bit of the work your own self. Don’t cheat, Frank, don’t! I did once, and I feel awfully shrivelled up every time I think of it; and I always do think of it when it thunders or the wind blows hard.”
“You, Kate? Tell me what you cheated about.”
“No, Frank,” quite solemnly; “it wasn’t you that I deceived.”
“Of course not—your own brother. If you had, I should have been sure to find you out. So you won’t tell Hugo to come here?”
“Yes, I’ll call Hugo, if you ask me to, when I get my bonnet on. The sun burns—my head aches now; but, Frank, you won’t let Hugo hoe the corn,” she said beseechingly.
“No, I guess you needn’t send him. Hark! what’s that music? O, it’s the circus coming up the road! Let’s run and see the big chariot and the cages go by. Here, take my hat!” he shouted, tossing his straw hat back, and rushing through the corn in the direction of the highway.
Kate put the hat on and followed after. A high stone wall enclosed that portion of Hallock Point. Beyond the wall there was a row of old, wind-twisted, gnarled, wild-cherry trees. When Kate came to the wall, the music was quite near. She could see the nodding plumes on “something or other—she didn’t know what”; but over the wall she could not climb. She shouted to Frank to come and help her—for the wall was higher than her head; and Frank called back to her that he was up in the cherry tree, and ’twas just splendid. “There are three elephants and camels, and, O, Kate, there are some real live Indians!”