“Why?” said the boy, opening his eyes still wider, “is any of the folks dead?”
“You little rascal, I say, where’s the schoolma’m?”
“She jest went down that road,” said the boy, “two or three minutes ago.”
“Was she alone?” said Charles.
“She started alone,” said the boy, “and a man met her out there a little ways, and turned about and went with her.”
Charles felt that his cake was all dough again, and that he might as well give it up for a bad job, and go home. Stephen Jones and Lucy Brown walked very leisurely home through the woods, and Charles and the boys went very leisurely in the boat across the pond. They even stopped by the way, and caught a mess of fish, since the boys had thrown their lines into the boat when they started. And when they reached the wharf, Charles, in order to show that he had been a fishing, took a large string of the fish in his hand, and carried them up to the house. Miss Lucy Brown, on her way home through the woods, had undoubtedly been informed of the proposed tea-party for the evening, to which she was to be invited, and to which Stephen Jones and Susan Jones were not invited; and when Miss Lucy’s invitation came, she sent word back, that she was engaged.
THE FAREWELL.
Farewell, farewell—O! ne’er from me
Till now that word hath hopeless passed;